Does anybody know of an animal that starts with an 'X'? I was trying to make a list of animals with one for every letter of the alphabet… And whoever named the xylophone should be hanged for the crime of being an overall jackass, because no one cares THAT MUCH about an underused instrument to learn to spell it..

But still. I like X. It's cool. It's even a good name for an anime character. Still, there are NO words that start with it.

-FLASHBACK-

Me: Anaconda… What starts with 'B'?

My friend Chris: Uh, BEAR. (sarcastically)

Me: Oh, yeah, duh. Bear. Chicken, Duck, Elephant, Flounder, Gorilla, H… H… HIPPO. Iguana, Jackalo-

Chris: Those don't really exist, dude.

Me: Shut up Chris, I hate you… Kangaroo, Lion, Mouse, Narwhal, Owl, Platypus, Quetzal, Rrr…rhinoceros, Sloth, Turtle, Unicorn-

Chris: Aren't real.

Me: I said shut up, Vulture, Walrus……………….. o__0

-END FLASHBACK-

Anyway, enough on my meaningless life. I'll letcha go on reading.

"FERB!"

Phineas ran to his brother, reaching him the second he hit the ground. The others dropped what they were doing and formed a crowd around them.

"What happened?" asked Isabella, concern showing in her voice.

"I… I don't know…"

Buford left to get Candace.

Ferb stirred slightly, blinking his eyes open.

"Ferb… Are you okay?" Phineas asked. Ferb started to sit up. His brother put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Don't-"

Ferb promptly removed the hand, sitting up all the way. " 'm fine," he assured.

"What happened?"

"I tripped."

"You were unconscious."

"I was?" asked Ferb. Phineas nodded. "Mm. Must've hit my head."

Phineas shook his head. "That's a lie." He looked Ferb dead in the eye with a sad, pleading face. "…How long have you been sick, Ferb?"

"W… No! I'm not-"

At that point, Candace arrived. She immediately knelt down beside her brothers. "What happened?" she asked with genuine shock.

"Ferb passed out," Phineas answered.

Candace nodded. "I'll go start the car. Can you walk?"

Ferb sighed. "I'm fine." He stood up, brushing himself off. "And I'm not seeing a doctor."

Phineas tugged on Ferb's arm. "Please…"

Ferb sighed. There was no way he could ever say no to that face. "Alright. But I'm already telling you, it's a waste of time and money."

0-0-0

"I don't see anything unusual. Cell count is normal, no infections… There is one problem, though. Your brother is suffering from a sever lack of sleep. I doubt he's had any rest at all for weeks, perhaps even a month."

Ferb was then unwillingly forced into a weeks' worth of bed rest, by mostly Phineas, but with enforcement by Candace.

"You're not allowed to leave this room unless you have to go to the bathroom! And don't lie and tell me you do and then sneak out, 'cause I'll know. Oh, I'll KNOW."

She had nothing better to do, so she was more than likely telling the truth.

Now he was stuck, lying in the bed, staring at the ceiling. As exhausted as he was, Ferb still willed himself not to sleep. He was too afraid of what he might dream about. The doctor had given him sleeping medication, but he refused to take it. Nearly sixteen years old, and afraid to go to sleep. He laughed at himself.

Ferb heard the door creak open. He looked over and saw Phineas entering the room.

"Still can't sleep?" he asked quietly.

Ferb shook his head.

Phineas nodded, starting to leave. "Okay."

"Stay."

Phineas turned around. "Hm?"

Ferb nodded, pointing to the edge of the bed.

Right here.

"Okay…" He sat down on the place his brother was pointing to. "You know… I'm glad you're okay. Sorry for freaking out like that." He sighed. "I just… don't know what I'd do without you. I mean, a brother is a brother, and th…" He noticed that Ferb had fallen asleep. "Okay… So much for that." Phineas smiled and fell back on the bed, closing his eyes. It wasn't long before he was asleep, as well.

Candace walked in to check on Ferb, to see her two brothers curled up together like kittens. She almost died of the cuteness, and wanted to take a picture. But alas, her phone was dead.

Finally, she decided that she needed to wake Phineas up, though it broke her heart to disturb the scene. Candace tiptoed over and gently shook the sleeping redhead's shoulder. "Hey," she whispered. "Wake up."

Phineas groaned, squirming closer to his brother and away from Candace's hand.

"Why don't you go downstairs for a bit?" she asked, in a motherly tone. "He needs rest."

Phineas nodded groggily, following Candace out of the room.

0-0-0

The green-haired man stood outside a house in Danville. Not the Danville he lived in now, but the one he grew up in. The safe, peaceful town he remembered, that died along with his precious little brother, and his own innocence.

He couldn't suppress a smile as he gazed at that old two-story, yellow house. He knew that just up the stairs of that house was the room he once shared with his brother, and that the yard outside had a tree, under which they both spent summer after wonderful, spectacular, logic-defying summer of their childhoods. He also couldn't help but remember how empty they both were for the first few weeks, if not still.

But it occurred to him that neither were empty now.

0-0-0

Phineas lay flat on the ground staring at the sky. His face was, unlike usual, completely expressionless.

Isabella walked up to him, bending over to face him. "Whatcha doin?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "Not until Ferb's better."

"Okay," said Isabella, understandingly. "But don't just sit there staring at the sun. That's not good."

"Yeah," said Buford. "You don't want glasses, do ya?" He yanked Baljeet's glasses off, holding them away. "See? This is all you gotta do to keep him from seein'."

"GIVE THOSE BACK!"

"What're you gonna do, huh?"

Baljeet sighed. "I will give you a cookie."

"… Buford likes cookies." He placed the glasses back on Baljeet's face. "Now you owe me."

"Okay."

"Don't you forget it, either."

"I won't, Buford."

"'kay then."

Phineas sat up, noticing a green-haired man walking through the gate. "Who's that?"

The man walked around as though looking for someone. Phineas got up and walked to him. "Can I… help you?" he asked.

The man looked shocked upon seeing Phineas. He stood just staring at him for a few minutes, taking in every detail he saw, until he finally took Phineas into a bone-crushing embrace.

"Phineas… you… Oh, God…"

Phineas blinked, just a bit freaked out. "Uh… Okay…"

The man pulled back, holding Phineas by the shoulders and staring into his eyes. Phineas knew there was something familiar about him. He stood there, taking in the man's features. He had green hair, yet, in spite of that, also had thick, dark eyebrows. His eyes were intense, and an impossibly light shade of lavender.

Hadn't Phineas just seen that same face, only younger, asleep upstairs?

It hit him all at once, and he gasped.

"Ferb?"

Such a short chapter. But I though this was a good cliffhanger.

And yes. I envision Ferb with Iggybrows. (If you haven't watched Hetalia, look up 'Arthur Kirkland', aka Iggy, on Google images to see what I'm talking about.) Maybe it's 'cause Arthur's British? IDK… I just do.