Okay guys, sorry for the delay. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. It's what made me continue this terrible story. More notes at the end. Here's chapter 2!

The next day at school was exactly what I had feared. I walked into my first class of the day, biology, which I shared with practically everyone. Phineas, Ferb, Gretchen, Katie, Ginger, and Holly. We all sat in the back corner of the classroom. Our teacher, Mrs. Cohen, was trying to teach us geometry while some of the punks decided it would be funny to make her repeat everything she was saying. She finally gave up on teaching the whole class and gave us busy work while she worked with the "problem student".

It was during this time that my absence previous was addressed.

"We missed you yesterday, Isabella," Phineas said as he was completing his work, nearly 75 percent of the way through when most of us had just barely started. Ferb was nearing completion as well and just nodded. "Gretchen told us you had a family event. Was it fun?"

I silently thanked my right-hand for not telling him the truth. But now there were lies that had to be taken care of. "It was alright," I confessed, certainly not talking about the same thing he was. "It was a lot better than expected, that's for sure."

"Well, I'm glad," he smiled, putting his pencil down and his paper to the side. "There might be days coming up where it'll be just you and me hanging out in the backyard. Ferb decided to get himself a job to keep him busy while he's not at school. He started there last week."

"So that's why you were missing!" I exclaimed. It's true, twice last week Ferb hadn't been over when I hung out with them. Thankfully, those were both Fireside Girls' days so I had my whole troop with me. But if Ferb's disappearance was going to be a regular thing, I couldn't blame it on Fireside Girls' day for long before Phineas knew something was up.

We went through the rest of the day without any comment about my "family thing". That is, until we hit lunch. We were all sitting around, the whole school only had one lunch period. It was Baljeet who decided to bring it up.

"So, Isabella," he started as we sat down. "Phineas told me you had a family event yesterday. Was it a Mexican tradition or Jewish?"

I bit into my sandwich while he was asking the question, pretending to try to swallow before answering. The truth was, I wasn't trying to swallow. Stalling was good. Gretchen looked over at me and understood, coming to my rescue once again.

"Hey Chief, didn't Coach say we had to be there early for practice today?"

I nodded, finally deciding to swallow. "Yeah, she said we had a new routine to cover this afternoon. Homecoming is coming up after all."

"I can't wait for the Homecoming Dance," Katie sighed. "I think I already have my dress picked out. Something pink of course!" Katie always wore pink. It complimented her blonde hair and green eyes nicely.

The rest of the girls got to talking about dresses, distracting the group focus. I silently packed up my things and moved all the way to the other side of campus, to the football field. I sat on the bleachers with my food, just silently eating and trying not to think. When I thought too hard I tended to overthink.

This time it was about my friends. I know they all seemed to enjoy my company. And I know that the girls have my back after so many years of leading their troop. But it seemed like it didn't matter whether I was there or not. They were still talking about dresses and dates even after I had left. I doubt anyone even noticed I was gone.

I'm not sure what hurt more, being around them and being unhappy, or being away from them and hating the fact that I just left the group and no one cares. It's like I shouldn't have been there in the first place, so I left. But after that I just felt like I shouldn't have left. It was like a fire that burns too hot for anything to live.

I clenched my eyes tightly and just hoped that the feelings would go away on their own. I sat there for who knows how long until a voice broke my concentration.

"Isabella?" I didn't want to open my eyes. I didn't want to face him. I kept lying right to his face, I couldn't face him now. "Isabella, are you okay?"

He was pretending to be worried about me. No, that wasn't fair. He always cared about me. But he cared about as much as he cared about Ferb. I wasn't anything special. I was the girl across the street. I was the childhood friend. I was never more than that.

I heard the bleachers squeak as he sat down next to me and I finally opened my eyes, still not looking at him. "I'm fine, Phineas. Just a little stressed about cheer practice tonight." Another lie. Quit being so mean to him.

"You guys are one of the best cheer squads I've ever seen," he praised. "Everything is always perfect. I'm sure you guys will learn this new routine in no time." He smiled at me and I felt one corner of my mouth move upward involuntarily. "That's not the only thing you're worried about, is it?"

How was it that he was so fantastic at picking up my emotions and yet he was still oblivious to the fact that I was in love with him!?

"It's this stupid dance," I sighed. "I mean, I don't have a dress yet. And all of the rest of the girls have dates. I'll be there alone and in some raggedy thing I pulled from my closet. I'm cheer captain. It's not supposed to happen that way! I should be the one that everyone is jealous of!"

He thought for a moment before replying. "Well, one problem at a time. You don't have a dress yet. How about after cheer practice I'll take you shopping? I have money saved up from my summer's internships at Stark Industries. I'll pay for it, whichever one you choose, that way you don't have to stress more about the price."

"Phineas, I can't let you do that," I sighed. He was always so generous. I just couldn't understand how I never got on his last nerve. He was a popular guy. He could have any friend he wanted. It seemed wasteful that he spent his time with me.

He slung an arm around my shoulders. "Of course you can. If you're really opposed to it you can pay me back eventually. But right now, you don't need the added stress."

I smiled, thanking him without words.

"But I'm with you there on the date thing. Even Ferb has a date. He wrangled Vanessa into going with him. Still not sure about how that relationship is going to go, but Ferb seems happy so that's all that really matters. Buford is going with Gretchen. Baljeet is going with Ginger. Katie is going with Holly. Django is going with Adyson. Milly is going with Irving. Everybody paired up already. So how about it?"

"How about what?" I asked. There didn't seem to be a question anywhere in his little list.

He shrugged, removing his hand from around me. I winced a little at the loss of contact but he didn't seem to notice. "You and I both don't have anyone to go with. So let's go together."

"You're asking me to the dance?" I asked, dumbfounded. I'd never been to a dance with Phineas before. Well, not exclusively. The Mixers in middle school didn't really count because we always went as a big group.

"Sure, it'll be fun."

"You and me at the dance?"

"Yeah. Friends do that, right?"

Friends. "Right."

And that's chapter two! Once again, a little on the short side. Sorry, but I felt like that was the only stopping point I was going to reach. This story, especially in later chapters, is partially about how I deal with stress and depression. I don't go to a therapist but that was how this story started. It's evolving as I write it. I couldn't figure out to do with it. And then I was reading a self-harm Achievement Hunter fic. And I got the idea for later chapters. (Most likely the next chapter.) And with my sister's homecoming fast approaching, it seemed like the right obstacle to put in Isabella's way. Anywho, hope you liked it. Please leave a review.