Phineas was pretty sure he had never been more dressed up in his life. Everything, from his clothes to his hair, was "perfectly" done (at least, it was according to Candace). She wasn't letting him, or anybody else for that matter, do anything or even leave their assigned dressing rooms, for fear that they would mess themselves up before photo time. But everyone couldn't help feeling that Candace just enjoyed locking her brothers up.

Phineas should've been happy right now. He was getting married to his dream girl. He was minutes away from one of the most important moments of his life. But he wasn't. There was too much… in the way.

He never did find out what was wrong with everybody. It had been one thing after another; parties, dinners, rehearsals. But if it did have something to do with the wedding, well, he was out of time.

Actually, not everyone had been upset. Obviously, Candace was still herself. Mom and Dad, Buford and Baljeet, Gretchen and the girls; they were all fine. The only two people besides Phineas himself that had been acting funny were Isabella and Ferb. Phineas spent more time with them than anyone else, so he knew something was wrong.

Phineas still had the nagging feeling that, in the long run, Ferb should have listened to him. They should've just told Isabella the truth about Ferb emailing her. He was sure Isabella wouldn't have cared. And then maybe Phineas could've just been himself and gotten to know Isabella naturally. He was going to have to go in there and live a relationship founded on a lie. And Isabella was never going to know about this special connection she really had with Ferb.

Phineas sat down on a plush chair in front of the window, put his head in his hand, and sighed. For the first time in his life, Phineas truly wanted to back out of what he was going to do today. He wasn't sure why. He didn't even have a good reason. What could he blame; the fact he was on some kind of new girlfriend high when he proposed to Isabella? No, there was definitely a better reason.

"Phineas, you in there?" He heard Gretchen say from outside the door.

"Yeah, Candace won't let us out, but I'm dressed. You can come in."

Gretchen poked her head in, and then hurried inside, shutting the door behind her.

Phineas smiled at her. "Wow, Gretch, you look adorable. I know Isabella kind of owns the color pink around here, but you should start wearing it. Actually, how did you even get out and about? I figured Candace would be keeping tabs on everyone. Gretchen?" He peered at her. She looked a little troubled. Oh no, he thought, now Gretchen's upset.

"Are you always in a good mood?" She asked weakly.

"No. I mean, I don't think so. I was literally just feeling pretty messed up before you came in. But somehow, all of you just… lift me up." He smiled at her again.

Wow, thought Gretchen. Phineas really could fix everything. She was sure he could. If he only knew. But she couldn't just tell him the entire secret. There would be so much wrong with that! Firstly, she had promised Ferb that she would not tell anyone, specifically the boy in front of her! And secondly, this was not her secret to tell. It barely concerned her, and it belonged to Isabella and Ferb.

"Gretchen? Hellooo?" Phineas waved his hand in front of her face.

Gretchen shook her head. She had been staring into space, thinking. "Sorry!"

Phineas' smile disappeared. "Gretchen, what's wrong?"

"I…I… I can't tell you." She said exhaustedly.

"Huh?" He said.

"Believe me, I'm fighting myself over this one. It's hard to just take orders all the time!" Gretchen said, throwing her hands up in the air. "That's all I ever do. 'Yes, chief! Right away, chief!' I'm not supposed to question the command, I just listen to it. That's what everyone likes about me! That's… all everyone likes about me." Gretchen sank into the chair Phineas had been in.

Phineas rushed over to her. "Gretchen, that is most definitely not all everyone likes about you. We like every single thing about you! What on Earth is wrong with all of us nowadays? It's spreading!"

Gretchen snapped her head up. "You're so right. Isabella and Ferb did this to me." She said grumpily.

"Yes." Phineas said, stunned. "It did start with Isabella and Ferb. Gretchen, what is it that you can't tell me?"

Gretchen suddenly seemed calm. "Phineas, you mentioned something to me about emails earlier."

"Umm, yeah." He seemed nervous again.

"Would you tell me the truth about them? The truth?"

There was just something about Gretchen. Phineas just, he could tell she only had good intentions. And he wanted to at least find out what was wrong with her. "Yeah, okay. Isabella wanted to keep in touch with me everyday through email. I was too lazy to follow through." He rubbed the back of his head guiltily. "I never did. But Ferb, he did. Everyday. For ten years."

"Isabella and Ferb kept in contact with each other for ten years." She said it as a statement, as if she already knew. Phineas nodded. Gretchen continued, "I know, if I did that with someone for so long, soon I would really really care about that person. I might even love them." Phineas nodded again, slower. "Phineas, did you ever wonder if, maybe, Ferb and Isabella gained feelings for each other over time? If they could have maybe, fallen… in… love?"

Phineas' mouth dropped open. "They could be in lov…"

Gretchen cut him off. "But that's silly. Why would Isabella be marrying you then? Unless, somehow, she didn't know how she felt about Ferb. Until it was too late. And obviously, Isabella and Ferb would love you too much to break your heart. So they would keep it secret. Even though it's killing both of them inside." Gretchen took a deep breath. "All of this being hypothetical, of course." She turned to Phineas, who looked petrified.

"Hypothetical." He repeated. Isabella and Ferb? "Gretchen, is it possible that you are trying to tell me that all this time, Isabella and Ferb were in love?"

Gretchen grimaced as she looked at Phineas' stunned face. "It shouldn't have been me. I shouldn't have told you." She whispered.

"Oh my god, it's true!"

"Oh no." Gretchen pulled at her hair. "I'm so stupid! And I promised Ferb!"

"Gretchen, where are they?"

"Don't be mad at them, Phineas! You're everything to them." Gretchen pleaded.

"I'm not mad." Phineas said. "I…I don't know what I am right now. But I have to talk to Ferb! And Isabella! Where are they?"

"I think she's still in her dressing room." Gretchen said timidly.

"Got it." Phineas was about to leave when Gretchen grabbed his hand.

"Promise me you'll fix everything." She said meekly.

"I promise."

Are you going to be able to handle more drama? The finale starts next chapter! As always, please review!