Despite what his family and friend's seemed to think, Phineas was neither oblivious nor clueless in the ways of love and romance. He knew exactly who's number was on the slip of paper Ferb had handed him the night before, and swallowed the sand that had seemed to appear out of nowhere as he stared at the lock screen of his phone.
Dating was not a new phenomenon to him, he just liked to keep his liaisons secret. He and Ferb were so well known around town that he knew if he took someone on a very public date, such as the grand opening of a new amusement park, everyone would know by the time they woke the next morning.
The only thing that had struck him odd about the conversation with Ferb was his brother's insistence that Isabella was totally into him. While Phineas knew she could come off as flirty at times, he'd always assumed she was just being overly nice because they were such good friends. Best of friends, really. Which was another reason why taking her out on a highly public date, which would basically make them a couple in the eyes of their friends, along with most of Danville, seemed like a Not. Good. Idea. Phineas reminded himself as he took a breath that his big bro had never steered him wrong before, and quickly punched in the numbers and pressed send before he could change his mind again.
Phineas had been deliberating over this phone call for so long that he'd paid little attention to the clock, and realized when he heard the monotone sound an automated voice mailbox, that Isabella was probably at work. After she'd graduated from the public high school, she had taken a summer job as an intern at the local paper, and had quickly been hired on as a copy editor. The hours were crazy, though, and she was rarely home in the evening.
At the beep, Phineas cleared his throat briefly and started talking.
"Uh, hey, Izzy. I guess I waited too late and you're at work. I just wanted to call and let you know that Ferb and I are throwing an opening day bash for the New and Improved New and Improved Amusement Park. And, well, I was wondering..." Here, Phineas scratched the back of his neck and told himself to get on with it before he got cut off. "Well, would you like to be my date that day? We don't have a lot of work to do, and I'd love the spend the day with you. Perhaps we can double with Ferb and his date? Either way, let me know, 'kay? 'Kay, I'll talk to you later. Bye." Phineas tapped the end call button and let out a long breath. The hard part was over, he supposed, now he just had to wait for a reply.
Isabella let out a jaw-cracking yawn as she let herself into her parents' house, and glared balefully at the staircase. Instead of tackling them in three-inch heels, she turned into the living room and plopped down onto the sofa, letting out a soft groan as she kicked off one shoe, then the other. Wondering what time it was, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket, surprised to find that she had a voice mail. Without bothering to look at the number it had come from, she listened to the message, her face lighting up like the sun with each passing second.
From upstairs, Mr. and Mrs Garcia-Shapiro were woken by the unearthly sound of a girlish squeal.
¡Dios Mio! Isabella's mother thought to herself and the squeals became less frequent and considerably quieter after the initial one. Wondering briefly what had happened to make her Isa so happy so late at night, she shrugged it off, rolled over and went back to sleep, planning to talk to her daughter in the morning.
Isabella finally got herself together enough to realize that she was being particularly loud, and dancing around the living room in the dark, bumping into furniture, was doing nothing for her aching feet. She couldn't keep back the sunny smile as she shot off a text to the number she'd memorized years ago
Phineas found he was unable to sleep, which was highly unusual. Normally, as soon as he shut his eyes he was in dreamland until the sun woke him up the following day. He never stressed over the typical teenage worries, such as acne and math tests. He and Ferb had been home schooled, which was more or less teaching yourself with occasional help from your parents or Google, and he had luckily had fairly unblemished skin most of his adolescent years.
So, what was keeping him awake tonight. He found he kept staring at his phone. It didn't take a brainiac to figure out that he was nervous (the short breath and sweaty hands were classic symptoms of nerves.) He just wasn't altogether sure why. It was a completely new experience when his phone lit up with a text message, and so did his eyes. He could read the message that had popped up on his screen from where he lay in his bed, Perry cuddled up next to him.
From: Izzy
Yes, of course I'll go with you! I'm headed to bed. Talk in the morning?
Phineas couldn't help the broad grin that crossed his face as he turned over and finally fell fast asleep. The next morning, for the first time in years, Phineas Flynn overselpt, Agent P was late for his assignment, and Ferb left the house solo, talking to someone on his phone.
"Hey, Gretchen," Ferb said quietly into his cell phone as soon as he heard the telltale beep of an answered call. He hated using his hands free, as he felt like he was talking to himself, but he was currently stuck in morning rush hour traffic as he make his way to City Hall to drop off his blueprints.
"Oh, hey, Ferb. What's up?" Gretchen asked, trying not to laugh at the thought of the normally quiet guy trying to keep up a phone conversation for any length of time. True to form, he got right to the point.
"Next weekend, Phin and I are hosting the opening celebration of the New and Improved Amusement Park. We agreed to ask someone to be our escorts for the evening. Are you game?"
"Oh, sure, you know how much I like hanging with you guys," Gretchen replied, smiling. She would have to clear her plans with her parents and her boyfriend, who was currently studying abroad in Vietnam. She didn't foresee any problems, as her parents would probably attend the ceremony, under the pretense of making sure she behaved herself while out with a boy she wasn't actively dating.
"That's great, Gretchen, you're a life saver." Ferb replied, but before he made his farewells, he grinned maniacally when she asked who Phineas was taking. He wasn't sure his right ear would ever stop ringing after the high pitched girly squeal that had come out his earpiece.