Six days, Ferb thought. They're going to get married in six days. Six days were nothing. They could sweep by before you even knew it. It was just another testament to how quickly life went by. Only weeks ago, he had been his normal, totally content self. He had been building with the guys, he had been looking forward to the summer, and the most he had been doing with Isabella was emailing her.
Ferb wished he could go back to that. As much as he loved Isabella, part of him hated her. She had never been very nice to him, always preferring Phineas. And she had always been selfish, thinking of her needs before anyone else. She may no longer prefer Phineas; but now she was prepared to crush his heart. And Ferb could not, would not, let that happen.
But Isabella was right; he had no cards. He had nothing. He was going to lose the game to Isabella. She could easily tell everyone what had happened in a second. And though she hadn't yet, the one thing haunting his mind was what she had said to him yesterday, with that dark look on her face. She wasn't going to make this sacrifice alone.
Ferb's cell phone, loudly ringing, snapped him out of his thoughts. It was Isabella. This was the first time either of them had attempted to contact each other since yesterday. Since they slept together. Since their fight.
Ferb didn't want to answer, but he did. "Hello."
"Hey, Ferb." Isabella sounded strangely perky. "What's up? You busy today?" She took his silence as a no. "I want you to meet me at that coffee place, Steam Noir."
"Isabella," he hissed, "What are you up to?"
"Nothing, Ferbie." She cooed, "I just want you to meet me for some coffee. Nothing suspicious about that. So you better be there. Got it? Good. Bye!" And the line went dead.
What was she doing? Did she want them to go on a date? This wasn't the greatest plan he had ever heard. Why did she want him to go there? Ferb's better judgment was arguing against going, but he so badly wanted to be with Isabella. They only had six days left. And having coffee wasn't necessarily a date. Everyone knew they were friends. So Ferb got up, got dressed, and headed for the coffee shop.
Once he got there, he went inside cautiously. He saw Isabella, sitting at one of the tables, waving to him. She was wearing a fluffy, but light, pink sweater, and her black hair was in one shiny ponytail, resting on her shoulder. Ferb sighed. She looked so pretty. He was going to have to kick his self-control into overdrive. He wasn't even going to let himself flirt with Isabella. She needed to get it into her head that no matter what, they could not be together.
Ferb sat down next to Isabella. "Hey there." She said. "Do you want some coffee?"
Ferb shook his head. "Isabella, why are we here?"
Isabella said nothing; instead she took out a long tube, and began applying lip-gloss to her lips, going slowly on purpose. Ferb clenched his teeth. He wasn't sure what was bothering him more. The fact that she was ignoring him, or the fact that he couldn't kiss those lips.
"Isabella!"
"Oops, sorry! It's just, sometimes you're so quiet, no one knows you're there." She said, spitefully.
Ferb scowled, "Isabella, I'm leaving."
"But Ferb, wait, don't you want to know why I called you here?" She said.
"I already know! You're trying to get some kind of sick pleasure out of this 'date', aren't you? Well, I don't care, because this is never going to happen!" Ferb yelled.
"Wow, that might be the longest, and loudest, thing I've ever heard you say Ferb." Ferb heard a voice behind him say.
Ferb turned around slowly. Standing behind him was a petite girl. She was wearing jeans and a soft green shirt, over her small, gentle curves. She had small blue sparkly eyes, with glasses over them. She had short, shiny, auburn hair, and a cute little smile. She waved to him.
Ferb could only stare, dumbfounded, as she skipped around him, and sat down next to Isabella. The girls smiled at each other. What was going on?
"Ferb, you remember Gretchen, don't you?" said Isabella.
Ferb nodded, the confused look still on his face. Once Isabella had left, the guys hadn't really hung out with the Fireside girls. But they had been in the same classes occasionally. Still, Ferb hadn't seen Gretchen since high school. She had grown up very pretty. But why was she here?
"So Ferb, how have you been?" Gretchen asked.
Ferb shrugged.
"Come on Ferb, be more chatty." Said Isabella. "Ferb is the mechanical genius behind Phineas' and Ferb's contraptions."
"Yeah, I know. I have an interest in that as well. I studied physics in college extensively." Said Gretchen.
"Oh really," said Ferb, interested. "So did you like our rollercoaster?"
"A lot. I was just telling the chief here about how I had always wanted to do more things like that for our fundraisers."
Isabella smiled, and put her hands on Gretchen's shoulders. "Gretch is the genius behind most of the Fireside girl escapades."
"Really? Because most of what you girls do is quite impressive. All you need is a little…"
"Teamwork!" Gretchen and Ferb said at the same time. They both started to laugh.
"Sorry, Ferb, Iz, I just have to run to the restroom." Said Gretchen, as she got up and left.
Isabella saw Ferb still smiling, and smiled herself. "So, you like Gretchen?"
"Yeah, she's really cool and… why do you care if I like Gretchen?" Ferb said, suspiciously.
"Because you're going to marry her." Isabella said, nonchalantly.
"WHAT?" said Ferb, getting up out of his seat.
Isabella pulled him back down. "Stop it, you're making a scene."
"What do you mean I'm marrying Gretchen?"
"Oh, not right now Ferb. I'm thinking in maybe a month."
"That did not answer my question."
Isabella's eyes narrowed. "Ferb, you expect me to live my entire life married to a man I know I am not in love with. So now I expect you to do the same with Gretchen."
Ferb opened his mouth in protest.
"Oh, Ferb does that upset you? Because we could always tell Phineas the truth." Isabella said cunningly.
Ferb shut his mouth. Isabella thought she had him trapped, didn't she? He was not going to, nor would he ever, crush Phineas' heart.
"She's really attractive." Ferb said. "And smart. Probably the smartest girl I've ever met." He emphasized. "I think I would love being married to Gretchen." Isabella stared at him in surprise. Ferb smiled to himself. "I would love it."
At that moment, Gretchen returned to the table. Ferb stood up. "Gretchen, would you like to come for a walk with me?"
Gretchen seemed pleasantly surprised. "Yes, yes I would."
"After you." He said. Gretchen headed towards the door.
Ferb turned back around towards the stunned Isabella. She had her mouth opened in surprise, or horror. He didn't know which. He took one finger, put it under her chin, and shut her mouth.
The tables were turning. Phineas wasn't the villain anymore; he was the damsel in distress. Isabella wasn't just Ferb's love interest, she was also his opponent. And if he played his cards just right, he might be able to beat her at her own game.
Ferbetchen! I honestly have no idea where this came from... unlike Ferbella, Ferbnessa, and most of the other couples people write, this one has no real support from the show. But now it's in my story... hmm. Ha, and now Isabella is the "villain", because I honestly hate her. PHINEAS IS MINE! But will Ferb be able to beat his girl, and get the girl at the same time? Please review, PM, or both.
Kisses from Silver