"How did that song go again?" Baljeet asked himself, before humming the first part of the song's lyrics.

"No no no no-" Phineas panicked.

"Phineas...likes Isabella? He...likes her likes her?"

Everyone gasped. Except Susanna (who, of course, knew that already) and Phineas, who right now was really worried.

"No I don't," Phineas protested. Ferb gave him a look, and Phineas sighed. "I was hoping this day would never come," he said. "The day I had to reveal my biggest secret ever."

"How did it start?" Buford inquired.

"It all began eight years ago..."

June 27, 2005

"Whatcha doin'?" a little girl asked, entering the yard. Her black hair was tied up in pigtails, and her blue eyes told everyone that she was a sweet, caring person.

"Hey Ferb, it's the new neighbor!" a much-younger Phineas called to his stepbrother. Ferb stopped working on whatever was in the yard (a six-foot device with LED tiles on its extended floor) and walked over to where Phineas was standing.

"What's that?" the girl asked, pointing to the machine.

"It's an invention that lets anyone move like a famous dancer," Phineas explained.

"You built that?"

"Yes. Yes, we did," the young Ferb said nonchalantly.

"I'm Phineas, and that's my brother Ferb," Phineas said (he didn't know what "stepsibling" meant back then).

"I'm Isabella," the girl replied.

She and Phineas shook hands. Their eyes met.

Phineas' heart pounded hard. (He didn't know Isabella's was doing that as well).

"And it was that moment that I knew," present Phineas said. "I was in love."

"So why didn't you tell us?" Buford asked.

"You didn't even tell me," Ferb added, a bit cross.

"I was four," Phineas replied. "I didn't want to be called a sissy. And then came another, more justified reason..."

October 6, 2005

I can't take it any longer, the now-kindergarten-age Phineas thought. Clutching a clover in his small hands, he wondered if he should tell Isabella he liked her.

"I love you, Kelly," Phineas heard a boy say. He looked over to another part of the school playground and noticed said boy talking to a girl, both his age.

"Aww, shucks...I love you too," Kelly replied, blushing as hard as the boy was.

If they can do it, so can I, Phineas thought, smiling. His happiness was short-lived, though, as a loud tromping noise filled his ears. A large, square-jawed fifth-grader who was known to torment the younger children stomped onto the playground, stopping right where the new couple was standing.

"Well, well, well," he said, startling the two younger kids, "what have we here? Oooh, I know what they'll say at the wedding reception! Tommy and Kelly, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" He laughed evilly.

"The teasing got so bad, Tommy and Kelly had to move away. I haven't heard from them since," present Phineas said. "When that happened, I thought the same would happen to me if I told Isabella how I felt about her!

"So I decided to try and find a way to take my mind off her," he continued, recalling what had happened that fateful April day. "And I did. I learned that if I focused on my inventions enough, I could sequester my romantic feelings for Isabella and only see her as a friend."

"So that's what Susanna meant by the preoccupation technique," Baljeet noted.

Phineas continued with his confession. "But recently there have been some leaks," he said, remembering when he took Isabella to the ice cream parlor for her birthday the year before. "I mean, she is the cutest girl I know..."

Isabella blushed at that.

"But really, it's silly, falling in love," Phineas said, looking away from everyone else. "I shouldn't have." He shed a tear.

"Wait, Dad, listen, I know how you feel," a familiar voice said.

Phineas turned to see Susanna standing next to him. He could see in her green eyes that she did understand his internal turmoil.

"When I was little, you explained to me about love. I was like, 'Ewww. Dad! Gross,'" she said, making a disgusted face (which looked rather comical).

"That's not helping," Phineas said bluntly.

"But now that I'm older, I know what you had been talking about. In fact, I'm starting to feel what you feel for Isabella myself."

"For that Hector guy you were talking about?" Buford asked, grinning.

"Not now, Buford." To Phineas she said, "Look, Dad, what scared you into hiding your feelings was almost eight years ago. Honestly, you're twelve years old now, and your thirteenth birthday's only in a month. This is when it's okay to like someone. I admit, you're a little young, but so what?"

Phineas looked at her. "You are so smart," he said, smiling.

"I get half of it from you, you know. And you know what? I think Isabella has a little something of her own to say." Susanna gave Isabella a look.

"Well?" Baljeet said.

Isabella took a deep breath. "Phineas, have you ever had weird dreams when you were a toddler?"

"All the time. What about it?" Phineas asked.

"Well, when I was four, I had a particularly weird one. I was an adult, and it was my wedding. The groom was smart, caring, had a great sense of humor, and so handsome." She sighed dreamily, then added, "He also had red hair and the largest nose I had ever seen."

Everyone else looked at a perplexed Phineas.

"My friends and I searched all over San Francisco for someone like that, but we never found him," she continued, "and when I moved here, I thought I never would. That is, until I met you. Immediately I realized you were the groom in my dream. Ever since then, I've been trying to tell you, Phineas: I love you."

"Is my nose really that big?" Phineas asked, touching the end of his nose (and missing the point yet again).

"Don't worry," Isabella said, figuring out what to say to get him to notice. "I find it very attractive."

Phineas then realized all that Isabella had said. His mood was greatly improved now, and he jumped, letting out a "YAHOO!"

"Looks like someone's happy," Susanna smirked.

"I had no idea you liked me back!" Phineas exclaimed, landing and staring at the Mexican-Israeli girl, who was pleased with herself for finally telling him.

"To be fair, it was pretty obvious..." Buford trailed off.

"Okay, show of hands, who knew?" Phineas asked.

The other boys and Susanna raised their hands. "Why didn't you guys tell me?" Phineas said.

"Wasn't in the script," Ferb quipped.

"Very funny."

"Well, we didn't know if you liked her, Mr. Secretive."

"I did..." Susanna mentioned.

"You're his daughter. You don't count."

"Right, right."

Phineas looked at Isabella. "I don't think we should be keeping secrets from each other any longer."

"Um...Phineas? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Now I'm only going to ask you once. Will you..." Isabella gulped, nervous, "...be my boyfriend?"

Phineas took her hand.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, I will."