Hypnosis

Isabella's P.O.V

It was the day of the Tri-State Festival, and fifteen year old Isabella was the first of the gang to arrive. She was excited to see Phineas, so she rushed to get ready this morning and arrived twenty minutes before everybody said to meet. She looked around at all of the colorful tents and booths, trying to find something to do by herself while she waited.

A purple sign with pink lettering caught her eye, so she moved closer to read it. The sign read: The Amazing Dr. Hypno, Hypnotist Extraordinaire. This looks interesting, she thought and entered the purple tent. There were beads and clocks all over the tent and a very comfortable looking armchair sitting in the middle.

"Hello there," a thick, Russian accent reached Isabella's ears, startling her as a man in a dark purple shirt and white pants with clocks on them appeared out of nowhere.

"H-hello," Isabella stuttered, slightly frightened.

The man's face softened. "Don't be afraid. My name is Doctor Hypno, what's yours?"

"Isabella," she responded, less afraid now.

"Isabella, would you like me to hypnotize you? It can be a fun experience. I'll even let you decide what I hypnotize you to do. Only five dollars."

"I don't really believe in hypnosis. I found your sign intriguing, but it's scientifically impossible," Isabella stated matter of factly.

Doctor Hypno smiled smugly. "Prove me wrong then."

That sounds like a challenge, she thought to herself, and she never backed down from a challenge. Besides, she had time to kill. "You're on. Do something simple, like..." she trailed off, thinking, until she finally came up with something. "Make me say no to every question I'm asked."

Isabella gave Doctor Hypno five dollars, and he lead her to the armchair in the center of the tent. Once she was seated, he stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a beautiful, golden pocket watch. "Look at nothing but the watch, and follow it with your eyes," he instructed as he began to wave the watch back and forth in front of Isabella's face.

Isabella followed the watch with her eyes, doing what she was told. She wanted to make sure she did everything right. Even though she didn't believe in hypnosis, doing everything she was supposed to and still not being hypnotized was the only way to prove him wrong. She was honest in everything she did- except when it came to her feelings for her redheaded friend- and this was no exception.

The dark haired girl began to hear ticking coming from the pocket watch. Wow, this is pretty relaxing, she thought.

"You're getting sleepy, very sleepy," Doctor Hypno said.

Isabella felt her eyes begin to close, and unvoluntarily, fell asleep. What felt like a second later, Isabella's eyes snapped open to the snapping of fingers. She looked around the room and then at the hypnotist standing in front of her. "How will I know if it worked?"

The man, still holding the pocket watch, smiled knowingly. "You'll know. Just come back before closing tonight, and tell me it worked."

Isabella left the tent, determined to prove Doctor Hypno wrong.

After walking around the festival for a while, Isabella reached the meeting spot. She saw Phineas, and her heart fluttered. She walked up to him and said, "Hey, Phineas. Whatcha' doin?"

"Hi, Isabella! We're waiting for you," Phineas responded.

Isabella finally noticed her other friends. She was so laser focused on her crush that she didn't see anyone else. Oops, she thought to herself and smiled sheepishly at the group. "Hi guys."

Her friends just greeted her happily. After talking for a few minutes, they decided to go on a ride. They just had to figure out which one.

"What about the roller coaster?" Holly asked.

Everyone nodded their agreement, except Isabella, who said, "No."

"Why not?" Baljeet asked.

"No," Isabella said again. What? I want to go on the roller coaster, and no is not a response to why not. Why do I keep saying no? What's going on? She wondered.

Everyone frowned at the Fireside Girls leader, confused.

"Are you okay, Isabella?" Phineas asked, concerned for his best friend.

"No."

"You guys go ahead. I'm gonna stay with Isabella and make sure she's okay," the triangular headed boy stated. "Is that okay with you, Izzy?"

Isabella had no idea what was going on. Then, it dawned on her. Doctor Hypno. She told him to make her say no to every question she's asked. She didn't even believe in hypnosis, but could she have been wrong? Did it actually work? I just have to fight through it, she thought. Phineas was offering to hang out with her, just the two of then, so she had to try and say yes. And boy, she wanted to. "Y-y-y-y-ye-ye-ye-ye," she stuttered, trying with all her might to say yes, but ended up saying, "No." She smacked her face.

Isabella looked at Ginger, pleading with her eyes to be left alone with Phineas. Ginger evidently got the message because she said, "Let's leave Phineas to it. He'll figure out what's wrong with her and fix it," and lead the gang away.

Phineas' P.O.V

Once Phineas was left alone with Isabella, he turned to her and said, "Is something wrong?"

"Y-y-y-y," Isabella started but then let out a frustrated breath. "No."

Phineas just looked at her, worried. I'm going to find out what's wrong with her, he thought. He was determined. We'll just have fun and keep talking for now, he thought. With that in mind, he grabbed her hand and started walking.

Neither one of them said a word, until they reached an area with picnic tables and a few food booths. Phineas finally looked at Isabella again with a smile and asked, "What flavor ice cream do you want?" Phineas new her favorite, of course, as he should since they've known each other for eight years. He just wanted to see what she would say.

"S-s… UGH!"

"Sit down, and I'll be right back," Phineas stated, while walking toward the ice cream booth.

After ordering a jumbo, hot fudge sunday to share and paying, Phineas tried to come up with a plan. He carried the ice cream to their table and saw Isabella's face light up at the sight of it. Adorable, he thought to himself. They ate the sweet treat in silence at first, until Phineas spoke up. "I love ice cream!"

"Me too," Isabella responded, happily.

Hmm. She didn't say no this time. "This reminds me of that time I took you out for ice cream for your birthday when we were kids," Phineas stated, curious as to what her response would be. He also looked back on the memory fondly.

Isabella stared off into space with a smile and half lidded eyes. "Yeeaah."

What was that face for? Well, whatever it was for, Phineas couldn't help staring. He found that expression really cute. Truth be told, he had a slight crush on the girl sitting across from him, and who could blame him? She was brave, kind, smart, sweet, beautiful, and the list just went on and on. Crush? Who was he kidding? If he was being honest with himself, he was in love with her. She didn't feel the same way, though. I am so in the friend zone there, he thought, sadly.

After finishing their ice cream, Phineas grabbed Isabella's hand again. Her hand was so soft and warm. Their hands fit together perfectly, like puzzle pieces. They just walked around for a while, Phineas continuing to make conversation. They finally came to a game booth where you had to knock the bottles down.

"Want me to win you a prize?" Phineas asked his raven haired friend.

Isabella smiled. "O-o-of-of c-c , y-y-y…OH COME ON!"

"I'll take that as a yes," Phineas replied, walking over to the booth.

Phineas paid the woman in the booth, received three balls and began trying to knock over the bottles. He knocked over all of the bottles on his second throw and could hear Isabella cheering for him. The woman in charge of the game told him to pick a prize, pointing to the selection of stuffed animals. He immediately saw the perfect one and picked it out. It was a pink unicorn, the size of his head with a purple horn

Phineas immediately put the unicorn in Isabella's arms, causing her to giggle before thanking him.

As they continued to walk, Phineas was still extremely puzzled. What could be going on with his friend? He could figure out how to fix a time machine, but he couldn't figure out Isabella's problem? It was so frustrating. There was nothing to do but talk and keep trying to figure it out.

"Are you sick?" Phineas asked Isabella out of nowhere.

"No."

"Are you mad at me?" Phineas tried again.

"NO!" Isabella shouted.

"I'm worried about you, Izzy," Phineas began. "You're my best friend. I'll do anything for you. You know that, right?" Phineas asked, looking at Isabella.

Phineas noticed Isabella trying not to open her mouth, but eventually lost the battle before saying, "No."

The boy looked down and frowned. Okay, that hurt. Did she really not know how important she was to him? If she really didn't know, he had not been a very good friend to her at all. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and looked up at Isabella's face. She was frowning, and tears were running down her cheeks. She didn't mean it, he realized. That was a relief. He placed a hand atop hers on his shoulder and smiled. "You didn't mean it. I understand."

Isabella returned his smile.

Phineas looked behind Isabella, and his eyes landed on a purple sign. He read over the pink letters and gasped. Hypnotist extraordinaire? That's it! She's hypnotized. That explains everything. Now, how could he get her out of it? He got an idea. Maybe doing something unexpected would work. Something shocking. He had been wanting to do this for a while anyway. He cupped her face, grinned at the shock in her eyes and kissed her lips.

Phineas had wanted to confess his feelings soon anyway but didn't know how. This would work. They would need to have a serious talk later, but this kiss would do for now. He wasn't worried about ruining their friendship. He knew they could survive anything. He felt her wrap her arms around him and return the kiss. It was electrifying.

After pulling apart, Isabella smiled. "Oh, Phineas."

"Are you alright now?"

"Yes. Yes I am."

Phineas smiled wide, picked her up and spun around. Isabella giggled until her feet touched the ground again.

"I know we need to talk, but there's something I need to do first," Isabella told Phineas as she pulled him inside the purple tent.

Once inside the tent, Isabella saw Doctor Hypno sitting in the comfy chair, reading a book. "You were right."

Doctor Hypno looked up from his book. "It worked?"

"Yes, it did."

Doctor Hypno's eyes widened. "It was supposed to last until sunset. How did you come out of it?"

"Shock or true love." Isabella looked at Phineas. "I'm going with the ladder", she said as she pulled Phineas outside.

It wasn't long before Phineas spotted boats. "Tunnel of love?"

"Let's go!" Isabella grinned.

They were silent at first, just enjoying the ride. Phineas didn't mind. He needed to get his thoughts together. How was he going to start this conversation? His heart started pounding like crazy, and his palms were sweating. He decided to wing it. "So… about that kiss…"

"Yes?" Isabella asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

Phineas was nervous, but he was determined to look Isabella in the eye. "I'm just gonna say it." He took a deep breath. "Isabella, I'm in love with you. I realized it about a year ago."

Isabella's jaw dropped, but then, she smiled. "I've been in love with you since we were kids."

It was Phineas' turn to be shocked. "That long? How did I not know this?"

"You were pretty obvious."

"I'm sorry," Phineas apologized. He couldn't believe he was so stupid. Well, at least he knew how to make up for it. "Let's make up for lost time." Phineas smirked.

"What did you have in mind?" Isabella smiled at him flirtatiously.

Phineas grabbed her hands and held on tight. "Will you be my girlfriend, Izzy?"

"YES!" Isabella exclaimed, excitedly.

Phineas laughed and kissed her again, longer and more passionate this time. After finally breaking apart, Isabella wrapped her arms around Phineas' waste, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. I'll never let you go, he thought to himself, smiling down at his new girlfriend.