Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

Normal

FERB

I held the machine out for Isabella, giving her my best mischievous smile. With a sigh, she took it, but instead of putting it around her neck like the rest of us, she put it on the top of her head, like the hair bow she used to wear when she was little. I could tell she was a little nervous, unsure of just what would come out when…

"Hey," Candace said, peeking her head out the door, "I'm back. You guys mind helping me put the groceries away?"

Isabella's eyes flashed with relief as she stared at Candace. I wonder when Jeremy will finally propose to Candace, the machine said from atop her head. I've always rooted for those two. It's so romantic, how long they've liked each other. It's kind of like—

Candace rushed forward and plucked the bow off her head, and I could see Isabella was pleased.

"What is this?" my sister asked, some of her old sixteen-year-old self shining through her more mature exterior.

"The Mind-Reading Bowtie 3000!" Phineas exclaimed proudly.

Candace tossed it down on the grass. "Of course it is," she said sarcastically. "Why should I be surprised? I'll bust you after you put the groceries away."

I shot Isabella a look that said, oh, you are so lucky.

We all got up and followed Candace inside, Baljeet muttering something about how much Candace had mellowed out since college. Between all of us teenagers, it was done quickly, but by the time we made it back outside, the Mind-Reading Bowtie 3000 was gone. The grass where it'd been laying was… smoking?

"Of course it's gone," Candace muttered from the door, covering her eyes with an exasperated sigh. "It's always gone." She slowly retreated back into the house with a continuing mutter of gone.

"Some day, Ferb, we'll have to look into where our inventions go," Phineas said, examining the blackened grass.

"But at least clean up has always been easy," Isabella chimed in.

The rest of the afternoon passed by pretty quickly. We played a few video games and had one round of dominoes. Buford and Baljeet left shortly after, and my brother, Isabella, and I poked about in the garage before dinnertime.

"I know there's inspiration in here for tomorrow," Phineas said as he ran his hand over some tools. "We just have to find it."

Isabella was shuffling through a cabinet in the corner as I dug through a chest with all our old sports equipment, tossing aside a couple baseballs, a deflated soccer ball, and a basketball. Our meandering was only interrupted when a phone vibrated.

"My mom said dinner is ready," Isabella sighed, looking at her cellphone. "I have to go home."

Just then, as if all mothers had some sort of internal dinnertime alarm, Mum popped her head into the garage. "Dinner's on the table," she said. "Isabella, sweetheart, you're welcome to join us. I made tacos."

"Thank you, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher," Isabella replied sweetly, "but my mom made dinner. I was just about to go home." She bounded up and hugged my mum. Phineas gave her a hug too, before heading inside with an exclamation of, tacos!

I stood up from the chest, spinning the old basketball on my finger.

"I meant what I thought," I said to Isabella, and she turned around. "The part about you. But I also know how you feel about my brother, so I won't push it any further. I'll act normal."

"Ferb—" She had a pained expression on her face, but I couldn't tell what that meant. Was she unhappy because I put her in an awkward position, which brought on the issue of my needing to act normal? Or was it because maybe she liked where this was going, and didn't want that? Honestly, I couldn't tell… which was new territory for me when it came to Isabella.

Then she gave me a weak smile and said, "I'm not even sure I know what normal looks like."

"Well our normal is pretty weird, but that's not the point."

She was gradually retreating out the open garage door, but she never turned away from me. When I didn't say anything, she snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Stop being so dramatic, Ferb! What's the point?"

"The point, Isabella," I said slowly, "is that I'll be your best friend before anything else." I bounced her the basketball, which she caught with ease. "This is my way of saying the ball's on your side of the court now. What you do with that is your choice."

Wordlessly, she nodded, and I smiled at her before heading inside for dinner.

ISABELLA

I took what Ferb said to heart; I focused on keeping things normal. Three weeks had passed since our mind reading day, and everyday had been just like those when we were ten: inexplicable creations, unpredictable events, and unexpected surprises.

I showed up, asked my usual catchphrase of what'cha doing? Somebody asked where Perry was. We started building something and had a blast. Somehow, the invention disappeared at the end of the day. After all these years, everything blurred together like extreme déjà vu, but it was never dull.

It was completely normal… except for one thing. I couldn't bring myself to vie for Phineas' attention. I didn't try to flirt or draw his eye. That's not to say I ignored Phineas; I don't think I could ever do that. He was fiercely pressed into my mental radar, and I was always acutely aware of him. I just didn't go out of my way to get him to notice me like I had the past twelve years.

Things were way too complicated to even approach; Ferb had feelings for me, and started creating… something in me when I was around him. But Phineas was Phineas. He'd always been my Phineas. Even considering other possibilities was bizarre after all these years fawning after the redhead and yet… somehow I was. Was I? The whole thing scared me.

Thus, I didn't touch the issue with a twenty-foot pole. I focused on our inventions and hanging out with both my boys as friends. Buford and Baljeet started coming over more often, which helped things. We were all there, older, developed, and different, but together all the same.

However, having the bully and the nerd present also had its drawbacks; they could tell things were off. I'd get weird looks from them whenever an opportunity to be romantic or close to Phineas cropped up and I didn't jump on it with the same gusto I used to.

Naturally, Ferb observed everything with the same calm indifference as he always did when other people were around.

I had to give Ferb credit, though; he'd kept his word. He acted completely normal, the exact same way he'd always acted before he'd kissed me. We hung out. When we were alone, we bantered with the same enthusiasm we always did.

Phineas was, well, Phineas. Fun-loving, ingenious, and oblivious to any tension or differences in behavior.

Summer was fun. Days were seized. Normalcy was achieved. So of course that's when everything had to be shaken up.

During dinner one night, my mom surprised me with wonderful news.

"Your cousin Daniela had her baby! She was shopping in the supermarket and her water broke. Two hours later little Camilla Garcia was born."

"It was a girl?" I squealed. "Oh, mama, that's wonderful!"

"Si. Can you believe it—tu prima, having a baby? It seems like just yesterday she was three!"

"That's so awesome! Is the baby healthy?"

"Si, si, si, all healthy. It was a complication-free birth. But there is one problem. Her husband couldn't get any time off of work, and Daniela said she could use some help during these next couple weeks."

I scrunched my eyebrows, unsure of where this was going. "So… what does that mean?"

"I said I'd go up there and help her. It might be for two to three weeks."

"Two to three weeks? I mean, I want to see the baby, but I didn't even think they had room for us. That's a lot of time, and only a little bit of space to be cramped up in."

"You're right, Isa," my mom said, putting her hand on top of mine. "Daniela's apartment is too small for both of us to visit, and too far to make trips back and forth to sleep here. That's why I was going to go while you stayed here."

"What?" I couldn't believe what I'd heard; my mother was leaving her seventeen-year-old daughter home alone for two(ish) weeks?

"That way you don't miss any time with your friends," Mom added on. Then, as if she read my mind, "but don't worry, mija, you won't be here alone."

"I won't?" She could tell I was still confused, and started rubbing small circles on the back of my hand.

"I talked to Linda and Lawrence earlier today. They said they'd be happy to have you."

Wait, WHAT? I tried to control my expression, but a wave of panic swelled up inside of me. Panic, which slowly morphed to include excitement, terror, and something like giddy anticipation.

"You're close to home in case you need anything, and my beautiful daughter won't be spending nights alone in a dark house."

I could tell this was pretty much a done deal, and I didn't want my mom to worry, so I smiled and agreed to her plan. After all, there wasn't a real issue. An extended sleepover at Phineas and Ferb's house? That should be fun. Insanely awkward, but fun.

She told me she was leaving for Eastern Tri-State area tomorrow.

So much for normal.

R/R please!

Yes indeed… Isabella will be staying with Phineas and Ferb! Let the real fireworks begin!