Music flowed from Isabella's headphones and her eyes grew heavy as she played with the bracelet on her wrist.

It was a simple, stainless steel accessory that had a small screen with nothing but three numbers on it.

A timer, if you will.

She stared at it intently as it counted down to when she would meet him. The one.

Isabella never would have guessed that she and her mother would be moving from Iguala, Mexico. Now she would be living in a small, USA city, located within the Tri-State Area.

That's where she would meet him. In exactly, two hours, thirty-five minutes, and seventeen seconds.

She could remember when she first got her bracelet.

It seemed like such a long time away. But that time, that one year, six months, and twenty-three hours, went by quicker than she could have ever imagined. Now she was mere hours away from meeting the guy that she was matched with.

The whole matchmaker thing had been started by the government a few years after Vivian was born. It seemed like a joke to Isabella.

She wasn't sure if it would work for her. It hadn't worked for her parents who had recently divorced, so she had been leery of the whole ideal to begin with.

Yet, there was something deep inside her that contained excitement and giddiness.

She never had a boyfriend during her teenage years. So finally having someone who might be interested in her competitive, bubbly spirit gave her hope that she would have a family of her own after all.

But, despite that little tid-bit of positivity, she still hated the bracelet hanging from her small wrist.

Though it may seem like a cool idea, it just seemed that the government was trying to have more control over the youth.

"Isa," Vivian said as she gently shook her daughter's shoulder to wake her from her nap.
"We're here."

There was a lot to do by the time the two women had gotten inside with their bags.

Boxes were strewn across main floor of the dark house along with pieces of furniture and rugs wrapped in plastic.

It gave the once empty home a cluttered look. The air was filled with dust and dirt and the white carpet was dingy since the house hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

But, despite the temporary inside appearance, Isabella loved the small house immediately.

She found it simple but homey and welcoming.
It even had little things she would find in her previous home back in Mexico there as well. Like the outside walls, for example.

Before Isabella could explore anymore, her mother put her to work and had her to take her things to her room.

Begrudgingly, Isabella did what she was told and found her room at the end of the short, upstairs hallway.

You wouldn't be able to miss it.

The walls were her favorite color, magenta pink, and had white crown molding on the baseboard and ceiling.

Her bed frame and mattress was already set up so all she had to do for it was find her sheets, pillows, and blankets.

Isabella couldn't wait until this was all finished. Maybe she could take a walk around the neighborhood and get to know the neighbors. Maybe there'll be some kids her age.

Isabella looked down at her bracelet as she stood up from setting a box down on the carpeted floor.

One hour, twenty-five minutes, and ten seconds.

Hm, maybe she wouldn't have to wait so long for her walk.

"Isa!" Vivian called up the stairs. "Could you help me get the boxes out of the back of the car please?" She asked before making her way to the front door.

"Sure thing, mamma!" Isabella called back as she closed a white dresser drawer and went downstairs.

When she got outside, the bright, warm sun greeted her with its bright cheery rays. She walked across the hot pavement of their driveway with nothing on her feet and joined her mother.

She was in a good mood despite being cooped up all day, and the weather only made her cheerier.

As Isabella reached for a box she glanced at her bracelet.
Two minutes, twenty seconds.

"Oh my gosh..." She whispered as her stomach did a somersault.

"Are you alright, Isa?" Vivian asked her daughter as she hefted a box out of the back and started walking to the house.

Isabella shook away her thoughts and nerves as she followed her mother's actions.

"I'm alright," She squeaked. "I'll be fine..." She added, mostly to herself.

Behind her she heard a front door close and joyful laughter emitted from across the street.

She just knew that this was when she was going to meet him.

This was the moment. And now she was nervous as hell.

Isabella tried to go on with her business and act normal like nothing life changing was going to happen. Yet, her hands still shook like mad as she listened to four pairs of footsteps approach from behind.

"Keep walking, keep walking, keep walking," Isabella quietly urged herself as she walked.

Isabella's heart was beating a hundred miles a minute as she walked slowly up her driveway. She could've sworn it stopped when she heard someone speak.

"Hello?" A motherly female voice asked from the sidewalk.

Muttering a curse, Isabella took in a deep breath before turning around and smiling.

She covered up her nerves with her bubbly personality as she took in the family standing before her.

There were four people all together. Two women and two boys that looked around her age.

The first woman was most likely the mother.
She had orange hair with a headband set gently behind her ears.

Her outfit was simple and fit for any housewife or motherly activities she would have to attend to throughout the day.

The daughter seemed to be in college and had long hair the same color as her mother's. Her bright red t-shirt and white jeans, along with matching shoes and socks gave her a sensible, put-together look.

The boys, well, they couldn't look more different from each other.

One obviously had the same generic look as the women, besides the odd shape of his head of course, but the other didn't.

The first boy, the cuter one in her opinion, had wild red hair and an orange polo with a red stripe across the chest. It had been pulled over a white long sleeve shirt. Jeans and black converse gave his outfit a more casual look.

The second, taller boy didn't have the air of "excitement" the others had and looked rather quiet. His hair was a bright green instead of an orange or red, and his outfit of choice was much more proper than the former. It clashed with his wildly colored hair.

"Hello!" Isabella chirped cheerfully. "I'm Isabella, your new neighbor!" She added as she returned her box to the back of the car and walked up to the family on the sidewalk.

"Isa! Who are you talking to ?" Her mother asked from the front porch.

Isabella smiled again as she held up a finger.
"Uno momento." She said politely before grabbing the box again and fetching her mother.

As Ferb watched the girl, Isabella, walk away his heart palpitated.

He was pretty sure that was her. That was the girl that was his soulmate.

Ferb glanced at his silver bracelet that matched his neighbor's.

Mere seconds before they would officially meet.

He was the only one left in the family who hadn't met his soulmate yet, so he had no doubts that Isabella was the one.

She was pretty enough, and had a light Mexican accent, but he knew that didn't tell him much about her. That wasn't what counted.

Sure, it was a perk, but it wasn't too important in a potential relationship.

From the outside, any normal person wouldn't be able to tell he was nervous. But, he was. Oh he was, he was and Phineas could tell.

Ferb had been glancing at his bracelet all morning. He had been distracted from their daily project until it had been unfortunately interrupted by their mother.

"Ah! Hello!" A cheery voice said, announcing the presence of Isabella and her mother.

"I am Vivian Garcia-Shapario and I see you've met my daughter Isabella." Vivian smiled as she shook the mother's hand.

"I'm Linda, and these are my children." She motioned to the three others standing beside her and the eldest girl spoke up.

"I'm Candace," She introduced herself as she held out a fist for Isabella to fist bump.

The two mothers instantly took a liking to each other and started a conversation while letting the children introduce themselves.

Isabella returned it before the next boy jumped forwards.
"I'm Phineas!" He exclaimed. "It's so cool that we have another kid our age in the neighborhood!"

Raising an eyebrow at his enthusiasm, Isabella smiled.

"Oh!" Phineas added. "And this is my brother," He continued as he pointed to the teenager next to him.

"Ferb," Mr. Contradiction said as he held out his right hand.

Isabella took a deep breath and tried to keep smiling as she shook his hand.

As soon as their hands touched, two loud, synchronized beeps emitted from both their bracelets meaning their timers had run out.
And unfortunately for the two it was loud enough that it had caught the attention of the others.

Phineas was the first to speak after a couple seconds of agonizing silence.
He could never handle awkward situations well.

"That's so cool!" He exclaimed. "I always wondered how that worked!"

Ferb chuckled at his brother's exclamations as he and Isabella's hands dropped.

"Well," Isabella laughed awkwardly. "I guess I'll be getting to know you." She ventured cautiously.

Such a cliche ending that you totally saw coming, but I hope you liked it anyway.
Yesterday I was working on it all day. Not even kidding. I was writing and editing it to the ends of the earth. I've never been so careful and thorough with a chapter before, and I hope it turned out okay.
:)

Have a great day! ~Joy