Chapter 4: Isabella, interrupted

Phineas walked reluctantly over the street towards Isabella's house; he had no idea what you were supposed to do for a hormonal female, so he just intended on being as friendly as possible. He knocked on the door completely unaware of what condition Isabella would be in when she answered it, but no answer came for a long while. Phineas suddenly noticed a patch of large daisies that were growing on Isabella's front lawn; he brought out his Swiss army knife and cut their stems so he could carry them in his hands. He arranged the flowers as best he could before Isabella finally answered the door, and he jumped slightly when she did so. "Oh, hey Isabella" said Phineas as he scratched his head a little; "Ferb told me you needed me to come over". Isabella had been crying again unknowingly to Phineas, but her eyes were red and her face was blotchy. "Oh, yeah" said Isabella quietly; "would you like to come in?". "If that's okay?" asked Phineas who was still holding the daisies in one hand. "W-what are those for?" Isabella asked hesitantly; "are they from the front lawn?" "Uh, maybe" Phineas replied with an awkward giggle; "I just figured you'd like them". Isabella let out a little smile from the side of her mouth; "that's so sweet, Phineas" she replied. He handed her the flowers in a gentlemanly manner before following her inside; he felt nervous, but he didn't know why.

Isabella led Phineas into the kitchen where she filled a vase with some water for her new daisies; she was so gentle with them. "So, uh, Ferb said you weren't feeling too good" Phineas began as he edged his way around the kitchen table. Isabella didn't look up from the vase; she simply carried on arranging the flowers despite them already being perfectly placed. "W-we can't specifically help, but we can try to make you feel more comfortable" said Phineas lovingly. Isabella didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but she was too exhausted to pursue the conversation further. "You're not in any pain, are you?" Phineas asked as he made his way closer to Isabella. Isabella was in tremendous pain, but she still didn't know how to approach the matter out of fear and embarrassment. "I-I'm" Isabella stuttered; "I-I don't know". Phineas stood looking at his best friend in complete confusion; he didn't know what he could do for her. Isabella felt herself getting emotional again, so she turned away to wipe her face without Phineas seeing. "I wish you'd tell me what's wrong, Isabella" said Phineas who was now standing next to his friend; "is it something we said?" "No, it's nothing" Isabella lied; "you haven't done anything".

A large tear ran down Isabella's left cheek; gravity took hold which made it splatter onto the kitchen table and ripple away. She sniffled slightly whilst wiping the excess water from her cheek, but before she knew it there was a wave of emotions which had to be expelled through vigorous tears. She sobbed into her little hands with the constant anxiety that Phineas was watching her cry, but she was soon taken into a loving embrace. Phineas couldn't think of anything else to do other than to hug his devastated friend, so he wrapped her in his noodle-like arms in hope that she would feel better. He felt her body shake from the sobbing, so he gently stroked her hair in order to calm her. Phineas had never noticed how lovely Isabella's hair smelt; he'd never been this close to her for so long, so there was no way of knowing beforehand. It smelt like strawberry ice cream, which was her favourite flavour due to its pink colour, and Phineas couldn't help but stand there and take in her scent. After the initial shock of Phineas' embrace, Isabella returned the hug by wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her head beneath his neck. Phineas then manoeuvred his arms around Isabella's waist in order to stroke her back; she was so small and dainty which he'd also never really realised. "Its okay" said Phineas softly; "I want to help".

Isabella never wanted their embrace to end, but she finally removed herself from him in order to wipe her face. She was worried about what she looked like after such an awful cry, but Phineas didn't care; all he wanted to do was help. "Are they really that bad?" Phineas asked. Isabella looked confused at Phineas' question; "a-are what really that bad?" she replied. "You know?" said Phineas as he gestured towards Isabella's stomach; "your, female problems". Isabella had finally caught on to what he meant, so she let out a slight giggle whilst shaking her head. "No, Phineas" Isabella responded; "it's got nothing to do with that". "Oh, well I don't quite understand then" replied Phineas who was now extremely oblivious; "Baljeet said you're probably going through some hormonal issues which is why you're so emotional". Isabella couldn't help but smile at her friend's ignorance, but this meant that she now had no choice but to explain everything. "No, everything's fine in that sense" said Isabella; "there won't be any problems there for a while, hopefully".

Isabella slumped over to the sofa that was situated on the other side of the kitchen, and Phineas followed closely behind her. "I'm confused" Phineas began; "if there's no hormonal aspect to your mood then I'm not sure what's causing it". Isabella couldn't look Phineas in the eye as she was afraid her tears would start falling once more, so she instead stared blankly at the floor. "I-I'm not sure how to begin" said Isabella finally; "I'm so overwhelmed, and not in a good way". Phineas' concern grew ever fiercer, so he took Isabella's hand in his own and intertwined their fingers. They somehow fit perfectly together without even trying. It took Isabella a moment to realise what was going on, and it wasn't until she felt a rush of warmth enter her body that she looked down to see their adjoined hands. She felt so at ease with Phineas, but there was a constant feeling of anxiety that encompassed her whenever he was around. "I want to help you, Isabella" said Phineas whilst rubbing her hand; "we all do".

Isabella appreciated Phineas kind words and his affectionate nature, and she started to feel a little less anxious at long last. She allowed her hand to become loose from Phineas' whilst she sat herself upright on the sofa and crossed her legs; she thought that now was as good a time as any to tell him what was really going on. "Okay Phineas" she began; "this isn't an easy thing to say so you'll have to bear with me". Phineas looked at his friend with concern; "o-okay. Take your time" he replied. Isabella took a deep breath whilst closing her eyes, but just before she was about to speak there was an enormous noise from the front door. Before the two youngsters knew what was going on, they'd been surrounded by Fireside Girls Troop 46231; they'd overheard Vivian telling Linda about the move.

"Chief!" yelled Gretchen as she adjusted her glasses; "we came as soon as we heard!" Isabella was mortified; she loved her troop with all her heart, but she didn't want Phineas to hear the truth from anyone but herself. "Gretch, it's not the best time" Isabella muttered whilst gesturing her head towards Phineas; the girl's weren't listening however. "Katie overheard your mom and Mrs Flynn-Fletcher talking at the mall this afternoon!" said Adyson abruptly; "why didn't you say anything?" Phineas had never been more confused in his life; "I'm sorry, but what the heck is going on?" he said in an almost shout. "The move" Katie interjected; "why didn't you tell us?" Isabella's entire body sunk into the sofa whilst her head fell towards the back cushions; she felt so ashamed and upset. "Huh?" said Phineas who was still looking in the direction of the troop; "what move?"

The Fireside Girls stood silently for a moment as they came to the realisation of what they'd done; they were so upset about Isabella's move that they hadn't noticed Phineas' presence in the room. "Oh..." Gretchen began; "Oops". "Isabella, are you moving away?" asked Phineas in a shaky voice; he felt a sudden wave of sadness which he'd never experienced before. The troop began to scuttle away rather conspicuously in order to escape the awkwardness they'd just created; after Milly shut the door they walked over to the Flynn-Fletcher's back yard to talk to the boys. Isabella felt physically sick, and she hadn't a clue how she was supposed to answer Phineas' question. She sunk further and further into the sofa as her hands met her cheeks, and she sighed deeply whilst letting a small tear fall from her right eye. Phineas was so overwhelmed with negative emotions that he didn't know where to begin; he felt sad, angry, confused, scared, anxious, lost, and genuinely upset. "Isabella?" Phineas asked; "what happened?"