Fifteen: Voice

Authors Note: Finally there's another part to this! I hope you guys like this; let me know!

There have been so many bad moments for me ever since I've turned fifteen. There have been times where I've second guessed myself, where my confidence has been shaken, and oh so many times where my body has worked against me. But tonight? Tonight takes the cake.

All I was trying to do was sing a song at a school dance. It's something that I've done a hundred times. Something that I've done a hundred times flawlessly.

But of course that was before I turned fifteen. That was before my voice started to change and crack.

I thought I'd be okay as long as I picked songs where my voice didn't have to go too high. I figured that my voice hadn't been breaking much lately, so I'd get through it without a problem.

I was so wrong.

I was on stage in front of the microphone with Ferb on lead guitar, Baljeet on bass, and Buford on drums. Everyone in the audience was pumped, ready for us to start playing. And for the first half of our song so was I.

And then it happened. I started into the second verse and my voice cracked. I tried to ignore it, play it off like it was nothing. But then it happened again. And again. And by the chorus it was obvious that it wasn't going to stop.

People in the crowd were laughing, and mind you, this is a school dance. As in all of the people I go to school with were laughing at me.

I struggled to make it through the chorus before I said we were going on intermission, and then I left the stage in a hurry.

And that, my friends, is why I'm sitting beside the water fountain in the hallway just outside the gym, where our school dance is being held.

I haven't been here long, just a minute or so. Just long enough for me start blaming this on puberty.

I hear the sound of the gym door opening and push my back closer to the wall, hoping that the water fountain blocks the view of me.

A second later Ferb is standing in front of me, looking down at me.

"Hey, Ferb." I greet forcing a smile.

He doesn't say anything, but instead moves to sit down beside me. I can feel his leg up against mine and for a second I can forget how embarrassed I am in favor of loving the feeling of his body against mine. God, why can't he always be this close to me?

"It wasn't that bad." Ferb says sounding sure of himself.

I let out a bitter laugh before I look him in the eye. "It was pretty bad."

"Your voice is just changing; half of the people in the gym have or will go through the exact same thing." Ferb rationalized.

"Yeah, I know. But that doesn't change that it happened to me in front of everyone. Singing is supposed to be my thing," I say sadly.

I hear Ferb chuckle before he wraps his arm around me and pulls my side against his. I blush and have to look down to avoid him seeing.

"Singing is your thing. Along with building, inventing, and anything else that you decide to do in a day," Ferb tells me softly. "Nothing can stop you but you. This is just a setback."

I finally manage to look over at Ferb, figuring that my blushing has calmed down enough to do so. He's looking at me seriously and for a minute I let his words sink in and make me feel better.

Knowing that Ferb thinks that highly of me is amazing. It makes the butterflies in my stomach go nuts.

But there's also the fact that he's so close to me. Close enough that I could kiss him. Our sides are flush against one another and it's making my whole body tingle.

God, he's gorgeous. How can anyone look this good? How can anybody be this perfect?

And he's right here, so close I can feel him breathing, and I'm not supposed to throw myself at him? How is that even possible? How have I managed to keep my hands to myself this long?

I'm about to completely throw my self control out the window when the gym door opens.

Ferb and I both look toward the door, only to see two girls leaving the gym in the direction of the bathroom. They look over at us and giggle at me before they continue their walk to the bathroom.

I sigh before Ferb removes his arm from around my shoulder, leaving me feeling cold and frustrated.

"Come on, then," Ferb says as he stands up, extending his hand toward me. "Baljeet wanted to sing tonight anyway. Do you want bass or lead?"

I take his hand and allow him to pull me up, holding his hand a little longer than I need to.

"You can keep lead; I'll play bass," I tell him, trying to sound happy.

Really I'm upset though. I was a few seconds away from kissing Ferb. I was finally going to do it. I was finally going to know what it felt like.

It's probably better that I didn't though. He's my step-brother. I should be happy that those girls walked by.

Of course I really just want to go to the girls' bathroom and scream at them for ruining my chance.

"It wasn't a big deal, Phineas." Ferb tells me as he puts his hand up the door.

"Yeah, I know." I say pretending that the singing thing was still my main reason for being upset.

"Besides," He starts as he opens the gym door. "I'm sure some people thought it was adorable."

It's good that he's already walked through the door because my face is on fire. What are the chances that he was one of those people?

I don't have time to think about it as I hurry after him into the gym. I have a show to finish.

And a hot step-brother to stare at while I do so.