Disclaimer: Phineas and Ferb and all characters associated with Phineas and Ferb are the intellectual property of Dan Povenmire, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and Disney.

The story, characters, and incidents portrayed are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased) or events is intended or should be inferred. Please review this story to let me know what can be improved or revised. Thank you.

Diana

I'm still not entirely sure about Perry. Yes, he seems good natured enough. But I can tell he's hiding something. I'm not sure what it is, but it's definitely something that's very important to him.

But he's just so excitable. I don't know why. He seems so excited to look at each and every thing. He'd read through our lunch menu like it's the most exciting book in existence. He's currently gorging himself on delicacy platypus food. Live grubs, not easy to get in the States. Finally, I decide to ask him something.

"You're not from L.A., are you?"

"Hmm?" he asks, swallowing another mouthful. "No, no I'm from Danville. It's on the eastern coast… at least, I think it is. I swear that sometimes it feels like it's here in the west. Then there are times where it feels like it's in the midwest."

"Okay…?" I say, slightly confused. "So, what brings you here?"

"I'm on vacation!" he answers instantly. "Never really been on one before. My best friend, Pinky, was supposed to come with me, but he got dragged off with his family. So now it's just me." He sighs at this. "I kinda wish he was here. We've been close for years, ya know?"

"Yeah…" I laugh, a little nervous. "So… what all are you gonna do?"

"Oh, I've had this planned for months! Though, now that I think about it, most of it was a two-person thing…" He furrows his brow, then takes a drink of water. He sighs contently. "Looks like I'm gonna have to come up with some other plans. Well you know what I'm doing today.

"Tomorrow I'm gonna go souvenir shopping and then I'm headed to San Francisco for a few days. Gonna spend time on the beach! After that I'm gonna come back here to L.A. and… wait, no, that really does require two…" He adopts a sour expression. "Man, I really wish Pinks was here."

"Well…" I start, and I don't bother stopping myself, "what if I did some of those things with you? You wouldn't have to change your plans… if that's alright with you, I mean?"

I can tell he doesn't know how to react to my offer. It had started from the moment he'd asked me to go with him. I had thought that he was asking me out, but he had seemed genuinely surprised that I had thought that was the reason. He'd legitimately just not wanted to be alone. I think it's kinda cute.

At the same time, though, I still can't help but feel slightly uneasy around him. Yes, he's acting cheerful, but there's something hiding under his relaxed surface.

And I really want to know what it is. Something about it makes me feel like he knows about me already. I'm not sure what exactly it is about him. Maybe it's the way he holds himself. Even though he's acting childish, I can tell that he's on guard. Perhaps he isn't even aware of it, but he's constantly scanning the room as if he's looking for something.

And now I've asked him out. I'm now wishing I'd held back. If this guy is who I think he is, then if he doesn't already know what I do, then he soon will. And once that happens… he'll try to get as far away from me as possible. I don't want that to happen.

"Hmm…" he muses, leaning his head on his paw. I quickly realize that he's examining me, looking me up and down. I have no idea what it is he's searching for. At least, not until he speaks up again. "I mean, if you want to. We were gonna go to a private airport and skydive. Have you ever done that before?"

I feel the blood drain from face as he asks this. "N-no, I haven't. I've never been in a plane before."

He gives me a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. I have plenty of experience. I've just, you know, never actually jumped out of one before. I have the training for it, though!"

Okay, he's definitely not normal. There are next to no animals with training like that. None except…!

I don't even want to think it. If that's true, then he is surely on to what's going on. And as much as I absolutely hate, despise even, what I do, I don't have a choice. I can't let him take it from me.

"I'm suddenly not so sure…"

"Hey, you're the one who suggested coming with me," Perry points out. "If you're not up for it, that's fine. I can either find something else to do or we can do something else. It's kinda up to you." He finishes with a shrug.

Is he serious? Does he actually not suspect anything, or is he just that good at hiding it?

"So…" he continues, "about tonight. Are we gonna go?"

I smile, pushing my concerns to the back of my mind. "Yeah… yeah, I'd love to go."

He's visibly relieved at this. I can tell he's not used to being alone, or at the very least, he really hates it. "Good, thank you. I'm really not used to this kind of thing."

I raise an eyebrow at that. "What kind of thing?"

"Concerts, vacationing, being alone…" he trails off at that last one, and I see something flash through his eyes. I can tell he's remembering something: something either depressing or tragic, I'm not sure which. He shakes his head. "So thank you."

"It's not that big of a deal. I need the break from… my work."

He leans forward a bit. Dang, mentioning that was a mistake. I've obviously piqued his interest. "What do you do?"

"I…" I don't know how to respond. Thoughts are falling through my head faster than I can process. "I'd rather not talk about it… So, you're on vacation. What's your job?"

He leans back in his seat, and I see something dangerous flicker across his face. I'm not sure what it is.

"My job…" he mutters, before looking down at his food. "I don't ever really talk about it. The only animals I ever really spend any time around have the same job as me, so there's never a need to talk about it. I'm not so sure I should talk about it. I doubt my boss would be happy if I do."

So I'm right. He does work for them. But why would he so openly admit to that? If he suspects me, why on earth would he tell me that?

It's now that I realize I'm being paranoid. After all, I was the one who started talking to him, not the other way around.

"So… I'm thinking we get you ready for tonight," Perry says suddenly.

I blink at him. "I'm sorry?"

He takes off his cap, revealing a tuft of black dyed fur. "It's a rock concert, right? We need to look the part. I was planning on putting more temp dye under my eyes right before the concert and getting dressed for the part. Let's get you something, too!"

I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. I don't know how to respond. "I don't…"

"Oh, if it's the dye you're worried about, don't worry. It washes out easy. Just running water through it gets it off."

"It's not that… I just… I've never owned clothes before."

For a split second, Perry looks confused before he shrugs. "That's fine, I'm sure we'll find something. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't normally wear clothes, either, but I figured I might as well. I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone, after all."

I really don't know what to make of Perry. He's just so… friendly. And I want to know why. So why not be as forward as possible?

"Why are you being so friendly to me? I mean, we only just met!"

He blinks at me. "Something tells me you need a friend. You have this air of…" he struggles trying to find the words, "depression about you. I don't know what it is, but I figured I could try to help, if you want."

I blink slowly at him. Was it that obvious? I mean, I know what he is, even if he doesn't know what I know. But is it really that obvious that I'm trying to hide something?

"You know… why not? It could be fun." I give him a small smile to try and hide the sadness that was trying to creep into my voice. And anyways, I might as well at least try to enjoy myself. I don't get to do that, well, ever.

He beams at me. "Great! Come on, let's finish up here and go shopping!"