A/N: So, as many of you have guessed, the next part of the story is gonna get a little kooky, but it should be fun! And thanks for all the reviews, everyone! Sorry for not updating as quickly as before, though. It was finals week and then work got in the way again.
Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, and faves, and here's the next chapter! It's a little longer this time, as promised. ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own Phineas and Ferb.
By the time Ferb made it back home, his parents had returned. They were sitting in the living room, quietly watching television. Which meant the boys must be upstairs. Ferb quickly made his way up to their bedroom, only to pause before opening the door.
"Okay, uhh, truth."
He peeked through the narrow crack in the doorway.
Baljeet leaned back against the edge of the bed,
"So what is going on between you and Isabella? Things seem to be a bit different this summer. I can't be the only one who has noticed."
Buford nodded,
"Yeah, I know what you're talking about. So what's up?"
Phineas frowned in confusion,
"I don't know what you mean," he replied, glancing back and forth between Baljeet and Buford's expectant looks.
Buford rolls his eyes,
"Of course. It's not like we've been expecting anything for years now, but whatever."
Ferb took that moment to enter.
"Oh, hey, Ferb!" his brother lit up, "Where'd you go? We've been waiting for you to get back before we set up camp for the night and watch some movies—"
Ferb just shrugged, and made his way over to his bed, to pull out a sleeping bag for the night. The other boys followed suit with little discussion.
As the third movie's credits began to roll, Ferb sat up, looking around the room. Everyone was fast asleep, even his step-brother, laying there next to him. Ferb sighed quietly to himself.
What was wrong with that boy, anyway? Isabella deserved him to figure it all out by now. But here he was, just as clueless as ever. Is it even possible that he's never even thought about it? That he's never even considered any girl to be worthy of his affections? Is that even possible?
"Nothing is impossible…" Ferb muttered spitefully.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tightly.
There had to be a way to help Isabella. She even wished that someone would like her, even if it wasn't Phineas. She needs to know that there are plenty of people out there that would be willing to reciprocate her feelings, no matter how strong those feelings may be.
Phineas rolled over in his sleep, and Ferb glanced down again. There's no way he could force his brother to return Isabella's feelings, but maybe there was a way to see…if they are even there to begin with? Maybe he just needed a situation that would cause him to think of Isabella as more than a friend?
But how?
He peered into the darkness of the rest of the room, seeing Baljeet and Buford sleeping, as well. It's unlikely that he could convince either of them to even pretend to flirt with Isabella. Baljeet has long grown out of his little phase of liking her, which seems ridiculous. Isabella has only gotten more beautiful as the time has passed, and even smarter and adorable, as well.
He blinked. Wait a minute. Why not him? Why couldn't he do it?
Isabella had considered him a confidant, someone she trusted.
Unfortunately, if he were to show her that she deserved someone to love her the same as she loves Phineas, she'd likely freak out about it, no doubt. But it would get to Phineas, too, wouldn't it? Isabella doesn't think of him the same as she thinks of Phineas, so she'd be more likely to politely dismiss his advances than think he's serious. At the same time, Phineas trusts him enough to let him know if he's confused or maybe having unknown feelings…? If he has an issue, the first person he'd come to would be him, his own brother. Even if it involves him, he wouldn't hesitate. In fact, this would be the fastest way to make this happen.
It'll work, Ferb told himself. He can do it. This'll work.
The next morning, Ferb decided that sleeping-in was not going to be an option, not with his brother galloping about at 7 in the morning. What had gotten into him?
Ferb got dressed and made his way downstairs to the kitchen, finding everyone seated at the very crowded kitchen table. Candace was actually standing by the sink, eating a bowl of cereal, while the others sat at the table. Lawrence walked in from the other room, a newspaper under his arm.
"There's going to be a silent auction at the Danville Storage Center today, so we'd better get going, dear," he stated, walking up to their mother. Her eyes lit up, as though she had only just remembered, and stood up quickly, taking her dishes to the sink. She turned to Candace,
"Are you going to be busy today, Candace, or can you keep an eye on your brothers for me?"
Candace rolled her eyes,
"You know, they are old enough to watch themselves. And just because I'm out of college for the summer doesn't mean I don't have plans!"
Linda turned around, facing the table packed with teens,
"Well, okay then. Looks like you boys are on your own today. Don't get into trouble, and if you decide to go anywhere, text me first to let me know, okay?"
Phineas grinned,
"Of course, Mom!"
She rustled his hair and made her way towards the door, trailing after her husband,
"Bye, boys! Have fun!"
And with that, the door latched closed behind them.
Ferb walked over to the kitchen counter, placing a couple slices of bread in the toaster, and then turning to his sister as he waited.
Candace didn't seem to be particularly fond of having to stay with them over the summer. Regardless of her unpopularity in the college dorms and her obvious homesickness in her phone calls, she seemed absolutely miserable to have to stay here. What on earth could that be about?
Phineas sat up in his chair, pushing his plate forward on the table.
"I know what we're gonna do today, guys!" he began, and everyone turned their attention to him, "Remember last night, when Buford was talking about the insufficiencies in the indoor laser tag game as opposed to the video games we played?"
"No," Baljeet scowled, "All I remember was him elbowing me in the FACE and shouting for me to feed him 'cause he was incapable of doing so himself!"
Buford rolled his eyes, continuing his breakfast.
"So, what's your point, Dinner Bell?"
Phineas turned to Buford,
"One of the insufficiencies was obviously the ability to multi-task, so we need to create an extreme game with accessibility to other tasks within the game."
"You're losing me," Buford remarked.
"We're basically going to reinvent laser tag by adding a bunch of unnecessary and unusual features that will make it more exciting and possibly even confusing."
Buford pushed his empty plate forward on the table,
"Sounds good to me. Let's get to it then."
Phineas stood up,
"Alright, let's go!"
As he started towards the backyard, with Buford and Baljeet in tow, Ferb turned to the toaster, his meal popping up and out on to his waiting plate. He buttered them slowly and made his way to the table to begin eating.
Candace placed her dishes in the sink, and walked over to the table, just glancing at her step-brother with a confused expression.
"And…why aren't you out there with them?"
Ferb didn't look up, he just replied,
"I won't be needed for the brainstorming process. I'll simply wait for Isabella to arrive to join them."
Candace stared at him in complete confusion for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders and went up to her room, or her old room, anyway.
Ferb glanced out to the living room, seeing the reflection of the oak tree in the glass of a picture frame on the wall. Phineas was out there, blabbing on and on about what they'll be putting into the new game of theirs.
As usual, it'll probably be really fun and definitely interesting, but that wasn't what he was looking forward to today. He was going to have to wait for Isabella for the fun to begin.
A/N: Wow, another long one. Sorry this took so long to post, guys. Really. I've been having a terrible day, though, so I figured I'd post it in hopes for some faves and nice reviews. That would at least cheer me up a little…