Author's Note: Okay, here is another display of my attempts to regulate the length of these chapters and fail miserably - this chapter is 3800 words, the next is 2200, and they started as part of one 4000-word chapter. Or actually the next chapter was supposed to be part of the chapter after that, but since combining it with that chapter would result in an even longer outcome than this one... ah well. Maybe I'll reorganize it all some time after the entire story is over.
Plot-wise, this chapter does move the plot along significantly, but only in regards to Ferb. What happens to the rest of the family remains yet to be seen, but this chapter does begin the fateful day of Saturday October 13th 2012, which is going to be the scene of some quite important things, to say the least. Please read and review!
Contrary to Ferb's fears throughout that day, Phineas and Candace's non-date on Tuesday night went off without a hitch. In fact, Ferb figured, it went entirely too well. Before the evening, Candace had been her usual self: cranky, rambling, texting with Jeremy every chance she could get, and only really relaxing whenever she spoke about getting to see the movie. By the time the evening ended, she was relaxed, smiling, confident, teasing Phineas for enjoying parts of the movie, and clearly at ease with herself. But perhaps the most surprising thing, both to him and to their parents, was that Phineas cheerfully told them that she'd offered to return the favor by taking him to see Space Adventure IV on Thursday.
It wasn't until that night that he got the full story from his brother, which made the situation clearer – but only slightly. Apparently, Candace had still been much like she was when they left for the first part of the evening, but the familiarity of Ducky Momo and the fact that she didn't have to do anything to keep the favor of the person she was with had relaxed her. It hadn't happened instantly, but gradually she'd really come to enjoy the evening, pointing out everything to her brother in a way she might not have done had Jeremy been present because she didn't want him to see her act so obsessive and so enthusiastic over a little kids' show. Not to mention that Phineas had really tried to listen to what Candace had to say. The only real problem had been when Phineas had stayed away a little too long during the break, leaving Candace gripping the cushions of the seats with anticipation and suspicion about whether he'd be back before the movie restarted, only for him to return in the nick of time with a modified popcorn-and-drinks-maker which would provide an endless stream of any edible or drinkable materials they could wish for during the show (and cushions, of course. Just in case the seats got sore.) Candace's busting sense had been deactivated as quickly as it had been activated and she'd enjoyed herself throughout, until she'd accidentally overloaded the machine and spilled a good deal of soda all over her brother. She had been genuinely sorry and had done her work to clean up the mess, so Phineas had forgiven her instantly, leading to Candace offering to take him to the Space Adventure showing that was being advertised at the theater to make up for it.
All in all, Ferb concluded after putting the puzzle pieces together, the night had been a resounding success for both of them – though his primary reason for that conclusion wasn't just the story Phineas had told but the fact that he didn't shut up about it afterwards. It was a stark contrast to the next day, Wednesday, when Candace spent all day over at Jeremy's which had not only left Phineas missing her (only slightly, though – he was able to function perfectly well throughout the day) but also left Candace neurotic and paranoid. She tried to mix busting them and visiting Jeremy on Thursday, which as expected turned into disaster. It should have spelled disaster for the Space Adventure arrangement that night and Ferb was half expecting her to call it off, but Candace kept word and by the end of the evening, she was relatively calm again. There was no agreement about a further movie night this time, not even at home, because Candace insisted on being with her boyfriend over the weekend. But from the calm state of both her and Phineas, Ferb didn't think they'd really need another movie to stay happy.
It was a very, very strange situation.
Throughout the week, Phineas kept building his projects and inviting his friends over, which provided them with a wholly different dynamic. Isabella came over to Ferb's side more and more often to lament – from what he could decipher, the Fireside Girls were still the same 'Phinabella' shippers they once were but even they had other things to do than to listen to Isabella's frustrated rants all the time – which had been okay back when Phineas was still an oblivious kid who knew nothing of romance. Now, however, Ferb knew at least part of the reason for his brother's obliviousness was his crush on Candace, and it left him in a conundrum.
He didn't want to keep lying to Isabella. The way she kept talking about Phineas and even had tears in her eyes at his constant ignorance made him want to tell the whole story, but he knew he couldn't do it. Even as she sat by his side and lamented on what could make Phineas – who was thirteen by now, after all – so naïve, he couldn't tell her. The truth would hurt her more than ignorance ever could.
So he kept avoiding the subjects and telling half-truths, for it was the only thing he trusted himself to do. He was supportive whenever she told him a new plan that might win her Phineas' affections (not that they were ever big plans anyway; just a new look or a new pick-up line or even an offer to eat ice cream together) but he suspected that part of the reason for his support was because he knew she would fail anyway. He told her that part of why Phineas was missing her hints was that he was worried over Candace, which was true, although Isabella of course wouldn't begin to guess what lay behind that. And he never actively helped her out, as much as he occasionally wanted to take her into his arms and tell her that she was a great girl and she really deserved someone who wanted to date her and that he was truly sorry his brother wouldn't be that person, and then he would take her on a date himself… just to make her feel better, of course.
Right. Just to make her feel better. Ferb didn't know how his brain expected him to believe those things sometimes.
And amidst those confused feelings, that first fateful Saturday finally rolled around: Saturday, October 13th 2012. It was the day of his appointment with Vanessa, and it was also the last day before Jeremy would be leaving for college… which meant Candace had, of course, invited him on a final date for the evening. Their sister had been up from early in the morning, planning for everything to be perfect, while Phineas had been up fairly early as well. His plan of the day was unique for three reasons – one, it had been rescheduled to the evening, ostensibly because of Ferb's appointment with Vanessa; two, out of all their friends, only Isabella was there to help them; and three, Ferb had no idea what the idea really was as Phineas didn't tell him.
It was a rare moment when Phineas Flynn would keep something from his brother, but throughout the morning as they prepared Ferb got nothing on the matter out of him, which was first unnoticeable but then weird and finally disconcerting. Rather than directly confronting his brother Ferb tried to discern what Phineas was up to from the blueprints, but they were so all over the place that he couldn't quite figure it out. They looked like some kind of building… maybe some kind of business again? Or a tall tower?
Maybe the reason he was feeling so preoccupied was because of Vanessa. As the afternoon drew nearer, Ferb got more and more anxious for their meeting. What would he say? Was he still attracted to her? Maybe. Did he like her? Yes. Could they be together? Probably not. Was he committed to her as the only option?
The feeling he got when Isabella looked at him after she had saved him from his absent-mindedness that morning said 'no'.
It was a fairly innocent incident, a physical slip-up much like how Isabella slipping up a few weeks ago had enflamed feelings in Ferb. Now, the distracted British boy had accidentally dropped some tools on the ramp they were using to construct the early stages of their project (which was inside S.H.E.D., for some reason Ferb also couldn't decipher – well, Phineas said it was supposed to be a surprise, but Ferb couldn't quite figure for whom) and had been on the verge of tripping over them on his way back up onto the ramp, carrying a toolbox with him and not noticing the threat. Isabella noticed, though, and as he tripped she rushed over and caught him just in time.
They stood there a few moments, Ferb leaning into her arms and still regaining his composure. "What happened?" he finally asked.
"You tripped" Isabella replied, helping him upright. She turned towards her crush' brother and gave him a concerned look. "Are you okay, Ferb? You're being much less focused than you normally are." Ferb remained quiet. "Is this about Vanessa?" Ferb sighed, and nodded.
Isabella glanced over at their teammate, who was happily hammering away at some other part of the invention and not paying any attention to her. Her face turned sour for a moment before she turned back to Ferb. "Want to talk about it?"
Ferb blinked, unsure what to answer. On the one hand, he was not much of a talker, and he did have several things weighing on his mind that he didn't want Isabella to know about – Phineas and Candace's thing, for one, or even just his own feelings towards her. But he could use someone to figure out how he felt about Vanessa, and honestly, comfort would be nice. And Isabella had never really offered him this before, so if he wanted to build up a better relationship with her… despite himself, he nodded.
Isabella smiled and walked over to Phineas. "Do you need any more help from us with that? Because I think I need to talk to Ferb for a while. He seems a bit down."
Phineas blinked. "Ferb, depressed? Are you sure? I hadn't noticed that." No, he hadn't, and Ferb would have never expected him to. "Yeah, I can do the rest of this by myself, no problem… you won't need my help with Ferb, then?"
Isabella smiled. "That's okay, Phineas. I can handle it." She walked out of the shed and motioned for Ferb to follow. Reluctantly, he walked after her and past his brother, meeting the latter's look of surprise with an empty stare.
They sat down under the tree, the bright sunlight making Ferb realize the fact that it was already the warmest point of the day (and thus past noon). Isabella stared at him questioningly and cleared her throat. "Let me try to figure this out by myself, since you're always so secretive. You're nervous about meeting up with Vanessa again because you haven't seen her in two years, and you've changed and she's changed in the meantime and you don't know if that will affect the crush you have on her, or even whether you still feel something at all for her after all this time. Is that roughly right?"
Ferb gave her a surprised look, which, judging from the chuckle she gave in response, told her all she needed to know. "Girls are perceptive, Ferb. And I do have my Figuring Out Other People's Emotional Troubles-Patch."
The greenhead mentally smirked, for Isabella hadn't really shown such perceptiveness lately when it came to the fact that Phineas wasn't attracted to her. Then again, that was a rather specific case, and something where Isabella's subconscious had an active interest in hiding the truth from her. It was entirely possible for her to miss that and be perceptive in other areas. Phineas himself was after all unbelievably oblivious but still incredibly smart.
As he was still mulling that over, Isabella continued. "I can understand you're nervous, Ferb. I have to go through this every day as I prepare for meeting up with Phineas." No she didn't, she didn't have to flirt with him after all. Then again, it wasn't like his own situation was so different… "And no matter what I did I failed, so I'm probably not the best person to give you dating advice. But I can tell you this. You have to figure out what you want, deep down in your heart, and what you think is possible, and act on that. If she does like you back, you can pull it off." She gave him a curious look. "But how do you envision it? If you had to take Vanessa on a date, for instance, what would you do?"
Ferb didn't have to think very long. "Show up early dressed in a tux to take her out in a car. Give her roses representing every year I want to spend with her. Take her to a fancy restaurant, pay the bill, and perhaps have the staff arrange some kind of surprise. Take her to a ballroom afterwards and dance with her for as long as she'd want to, before leaving her with a parting gift after dropping her off at home."
Isabella's eyes widened. "Ferb, that sounds so sweet! I wish Phineas would do something like that for me… but I doubt he'd ever even conceive of it. One can always hope, but…" She patted his shoulder. "You're going to be a great boyfriend. If you ever get together with Vanessa, she'll be really lucky."
Ferb fought the urge to blush. Seriously? Did he really have to listen to Isabella saying all those nice things about him as he was preparing himself for his appointment with Vanessa? It was so simple. Isabella was Phineas', or at least Phineas was so prominently featured in her heart that there could be no room for him. He had no real interest in other girls at the moment – over the past weeks, his thoughts had been solely focused on these two. And Vanessa was, as far as he knew, single, and she was his old flame. She was obviously the best pick, the facts were clear. So why weren't his emotions clearer?
He noticed movement next to him and saw Isabella had shuffled a little closer towards him. He tensed up before noticing she was merely resting her head at a relatively kinder spot on the tree. That was understandable. Still, they were very close now. If anyone saw them like this…
"Hey, Ferb? I'm here!"
Of course Vanessa would have to walk into the backyard at that exact moment, where he wasn't only sitting very exposed but also totally unprepared for her visit. She noticed him and gave him and the girl next to him a weird look. "Oh, hi. Where are Phineas and Candace?"
"Phineas is in the shed and I don't know where Candace is, but she should be upstairs" Isabella replied.
Vanessa nodded. "I see. So, Ferb, are we going to talk inside or outside?"
Ferb pondered that for a moment. He did have this urge to stay outside… he looked at Isabella, and his heart skipped a beat. Of course, that was the problem. He didn't want to stay outside because he liked the weather, but because even with Vanessa showing up, he didn't want to leave Isabella's side.
Ferb wasn't oblivious. He knew perfectly well thinking about one girl when on the verge of meeting another spelled doom for any kind of romantic involvement. Did this mean his mind had practically given up on Vanessa already? He didn't know, but… Summoning all the stubbornness he could muster, he got up and pointed towards the house. Vanessa nodded, and walked ahead.
Ferb was about to follow her when he noticed Isabella looking at him, a concerned expression on her face. He smiled faintly and gently pressed her hands. "Don't worry. It'll be all right."
He had no idea why she gave him such a shocked look immediately thereafter and kept staring all the way as he walked back inside the house.
Ferb quickly collected Perry and brought him to Vanessa in the living room before going off to make coffee. Their parents were at work again, as they seemed to be more often even on Saturdays in recent weeks. Apparently, they were trying to teach their kids responsibility. Ferb doubted it was necessary or effective, but he appreciated the efforts. It meant Vanessa was all alone for a while as he prepared something to eat and to drink, but it didn't seem to bother her – although at one point, he thought he heard her talking to his platypus. Now that was strange.
Then again, in Danville nothing was really too outlandish. Maybe he'd have to keep an eye on Perry's behavior in the future.
Anyway, he got everything in order at last and lunged off into a fairly innocent conversation about the nature of the platypus with her. Vanessa seemed to have a surprising amount of knowledge of the animal for someone who didn't have a pet, but neither of their minds was really in the conversation. Ferb was thinking about the confused romantic feelings he had been experiencing lately and about what every twitch of Vanessa's face made him feel, and he still had enough presence of mind to register that Vanessa wasn't all there either.
After about an hour or two of mindless banter had left them falling silent for a moment, Vanessa finally turned towards him with a sigh. "Look, Ferb… I didn't just come here to talk about your platypus. That was my original intention, but I've been thinking… about something Jeremy happened to mention to me in passing last week, back at Povenmire University… Ferb, do you have a crush on me?"
Ferb blinked, stunned. She… she knew? Jeremy had told her? Suddenly, he felt a lot more indifferent to whatever would happen tonight between him and Candace. He just stared at Vanessa, not just because he was unaccustomed to replying but also because he was unable to think of anything to say.
Vanessa smiled. "Look, it's fine. I understand. And had circumstances been different, I think I might have even return those feelings. You're a handsome guy, you're brilliant, and you're really sweet." Ferb's cheeks reddened. "But you are thirteen. And although I'll admit we could bridge that gap if we really wanted to, I've been having a lot of boyfriends over the past years and I feel like I could use a break right now. College is tough, and I'm working on an internship on top of that, so… yeah, difficult times." Ferb gave her a sympathetic look, but remained generally downcast. Could it really end like this?
His crush noticed his facial expression, so she sat down next to him and patted his shoulder. "It's not you. If in three years or so you're still interested in me, feel free to give me a call or something. I can't promise you I'll still be single too, of course. And in the meantime, we can be friends." Ferb smiled wryly. "Not to mention that I saw the way you and the girl… Isabella, right?... were sitting together. I'm not the only one you're interested in, am I?"
Now Ferb was blushing in more shades than he could imagine. It was bad enough that he had noticed that he felt something for Isabella, but if someone else had noticed as well? After such a short period of observation? He regained his composure and shrugged. "She likes Phineas. He hasn't responded to any of her flirting over the past years, but that has never stopped her."
"Well, she is your friend, isn't she?" Vanessa pointed out. "Maybe all you need to do is be there for her and remind her that there are more fish in the sea. If she has liked your brother for so long and he hasn't reacted to her, he might never react to her feelings. Do you really want to condemn the two of them to remain in that static state forever?"
Now that Vanessa put it like that, it did sound reasonable. Ferb pondered it over in his mind. Could he attempt to… what, flirt with Isabella? She probably wouldn't notice him, but he could always give it a try. Not to the same extent she had flirted with Phineas, but just on a few occasions. To test the waters, as it were.
As he looked up again, Vanessa was just getting up and putting her coat back on. "I really have to run along now" she said. "I know it's just been two hours, but I promised my Dad tonight was game night and he insists that I should be home early for dinner for that. But if you need me again, give me a call, okay? Candace should still have my number." Ferb nodded, walking along with her towards the front door. "Oh, and thanks for having me over." She grinned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek like she'd done two years ago, and then she rushed out of the door, Ferb looking after her.
Huh. No psychedelic flowers. That was strange.
He walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch before absentmindedly petting his platypus, who was still there. "This is nuts, Perry," he sighed. "I still have a crush on Vanessa, but it might be fading and now I like Isabella instead, who still loves Phineas but doesn't realize Phineas is in love with Candace. Can't blame her there. Meanwhile Candace is still insecure about Jeremy which will provide trouble tonight in some way, and she doesn't know about Phineas' feelings, while Phineas is still oblivious to Isabella and Isabella is… oblivious to me. As far as I know. And apparently, it's all so complex that even I can't make sense of it without saying it out loud."
He sighed and put his pet back down before his gaze briefly wandered over to the stairs. This had already been a crazy day thus far, but judging from what he could hear from his sister neurotically rambling to herself upstairs, it was going to get even crazier soon. Shaking his head, he walked outside to rejoin his friends.
